By Amruta Khandekar
(Reuters) -European stocks were flat on Tuesday as a slew of downbeat earnings reports countered a boost from healthcare and energy shares amid a slight pullback in concerns about risks from the Middle East conflict.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was almost unchanged at 449.52 points by 8:36 GMT after a modest rise in the previous session.
Meanwhile, U.S.
President Joe Biden is set to make a high stakes visit to Israel on Wednesday to show support for its war on Hamas.
“Although still tense, the mood regarding the Middle East appears to be a bit less pessimistic than it was, given all the efforts that are being made to try and stop the conflict spreading widely,” said Stuart Cole, chief macro economist at Equiti Capital.
Healthcare shares offered some reprieve on Tuesday, up 0.4%, with Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk rising 1.6%.
Energy shares added 0.2%, tracking crude prices higher.
UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4% as the pound <GBP=> declined after data showing a slowdown in Britain’s regular wage growth supported hopes of a pause in the Bank of England’s tightening cycle.
Shares of Ericsson dropped 7.8% to their lowest in six years after the Swedish network equipment provider’s fourth-quarter guidance missed expectations and the company flagged uncertainty around the recovery of its mobile networks business.
Rival Nokia’s shares fell 4.1%, dragging the broader telecoms index down 0.4%.
Nordic Semiconductor slumped 14.9% to the bottom of STOXX 600 as the Norwegian chip maker’s fourth-quarter revenue forecast missed expectations.
Shares of Lonza sank 8.8% after the contract drugmaker cut its 2024 margin target again following the abrupt departure of its CEO last month.
Miners dropped 1.5%, leading the sectoral decline as the Middle East conflict weighed on copper prices.
On the brighter side, the aerospace and defense index was the top sectoral gainer, up 1.2%, as Rolls-Royce climbed 1.8% after the British engineering company axed up to 2,500 roles.Despite geopolitical tensions, European shares have kicked off this week on an upbeat note as dovish comments from U.S.
Federal Reserve officials lifted bets that the central bank was nearing the end of its tightening cycle.
Among other stocks, Umicore jumped 14.6% after the Belgian chemicals and battery materials group updated its mid-term capital spending outlook.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
