European equities recovered early, sharp losses today as banks and oil stocks turned around, supported also by strength in telecoms stocks, which have shown defensive qualities during recent market volatility.
By mid-afternoon, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.6 per cent higher at 1,301.10, while Frankfurt's Xetra Dax climbed 0.9 per cent to 5,675.07. In Paris, the CAC 40 was 0.5 per cent higher at 4,919.08 and London's FTSE 100 recovered 0.9 per cent to 5,705.2.
In New York last night, stocks fell sharply after a disappointing sales report from Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, followed a slip in US consumer confidence, raising fears about the health of the economy.
This left the Dow Jones Industrial Average 1.6 per cent lower at 11,094.43, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 2.1 per cent to 2,164.74.
With little in the way of fresh economic news from the eurozone, investors were cautious ahead of minutes from the last US Federal Reserve meeting, published after most European markets are closed.
The turnaround was driven by strength in fixed line telecoms groups, one of the more defensive sectors during recent stock market falls.
France Telecom added 3.6 per cent to €17.35, while Dutch operator KPN gained 2.1 per cent to €8.90. Telecom Italia climbed 3 per cent to €2.19 and Spain's Telefonica added 1.8 per cent to €12.69.
OTE, or Hellenic Telecom, was up 2.1 per cent to €17.36 after its better-than-expected results on Tuesday prompted some positive broker comment. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein said it thought full-year earnings expectations were too low and that it anticipated upgrades.
Financial Times Service