European stocks are little changed as industrials offset energy
By Bloomberg
European shares were little changed, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index heading for a weekly advance, as gains in industrial companies offset declines in energy stocks.
The Stoxx 600 added 0.1 percent to 395.63 at 8:15 a.m. in London. Shares closed little changed yesterday, trimming gains after data showed U.S. retail sales in February unexpectedly fell for a third month. Industry-related stocks provided the most support to the equity gauge today.
The Stoxx 600 is heading for a weekly rise of 0.4 percent, as the weaker euro boosts exporters, outweighing investor concern that the Federal Reserve may signal earlier rate increases at its meeting next week.
Shares also gained as euro-area central banks bought German, Belgian, French, Italian and Spanish bonds this week, sending borrowing costs across Europe to record lows. The purchases are part of the European Central Bank’s asset-buying program, known as quantitative easing.
Among stocks moving on corporate news, Salvatore Ferragamo SpA advanced 1.5 percent after reporting better-than-forecast earnings for 2014.
A measure of energy shares posted the worst performance of the 19 industry groups on the Stoxx 600 as oil headed for the longest stretch of weekly declines in almost two months amid signs that a global supply glut will expand.
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