Europe: Shares ease as earnings flow in, eyes on Powell

[MILAN] European shares dipped on Tuesday as mixed company updates flowed in and markets awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony for possible clues on the outlook for US interest rate rises.

Telecoms stocks were the biggest sectoral losers, down 1 per cent, weighed by a 3 per cent drop in Telenor after the Norwegian telecoms operator posted second-quarter results that slightly lagged forecasts.

Their losses and broader weakness among tech stocks following a big subscriber growth miss at US giant Netflix helped drag the pan-European STOXX 600 index down 0.2 per cent by 0725 GMT. Trading was however subdued ahead of Mr Powell's speech due at 1400 GMT.

Husqvarna was the biggest faller on the STOXX, down 15 per cent after the world's biggest maker of outdoor power tools posted an unexpected drop in operating profit.

Banks, buoyed in the previous session by a positive earnings surprise from Deutsche Bank, rose for a second day with SEB up 5.8 per cent after net interest income at the Swedish lender beat forecasts thanks to strong corporate demand.

Thyssenkrupp jumped 5.8 per cent after its chairman quit, raising hopes of a restructuring at the German submarines-to-elevators conglomerate.

REUTERS