Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

European stocks were little changed, after equities fell yesterday for the first time in five days, as investors weighed earnings from companies including Royal DSM NV, while awaiting data on U.S. factory orders. U.S. futures were also little changed and Asian shares climbed.

DSM advanced 0.8 percent after reporting quarterly results that beat projections. Hugo Boss AG slid 6.1 percent after lowering its 2014 sales outlook.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1 percent to 333.94 at 8:09 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge sank 0.8 percent yesterday, amid disappointing earnings from PostNL NV and Holcim Ltd. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures lost 0.2 percent today, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rallied 1.2 percent.

A report at 10 a.m. in Washington may show factory orders in the U.S. slid 0.6 percent in September, following a 10.1 percent decline in the prior month, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

DSM increased 0.8 percent to 49.37 euros. The world's largest vitamin maker reported third-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 315 million euros ($394 million), beating the 313 million euros estimated by analysts. The company, under pressure to break up from activist Third Point LLC, also said it's "firmly" committed to its strategy of pursuing growth across nutrition and performance- plastics businesses.

Hugo Boss retreated 6.1 percent to 98.74 euros. The German fashion house forecast 2014 sales will climb 6 percent to 8 percent, down from a previous estimate of high single-digit growth. Hugo Boss said the adjusted outlook reflects increasing challenges posed by economic conditions and a substantial slowdown in European demand.

L'Oreal SA retreated 2.2 percent to 121.40 euros. The world's largest cosmetics maker said third-quarter sales climbed 2.3 percent, compared with the average analyst estimate for a 3.8 percent gain. Chairman Jean-Paul Agon said he expects this year to be the weakest since 2009.