Europe: Shares open sideways as earning roll in, Spain rebounds

[LONDON] Spanish equities opened 1.4 per cent higher on Monday, reassured by weekend demonstrations for a unified Spain and a poll showing a lead for parties opposed to Catalan independence.

Broader European shares traded sideways.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 per cent but Spain's IBEX benchmark rose, led by Caixabank and Banco de Sabadell, shares in which rose 4.2 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively.

Spain's state-owned lender Bankia, which posted a 10 per cent fall in third-quarter net profit as lending income remained pressured by low interest rates gained 1.1 per cent.

In London, shares in HSBC fell 0.6 per cent despite reporting a five-fold jump in its quarterly profits.

Glencore retreated 1.5 per cent after raising its earnings guidance and a report saying it would cancel its secondary listing in Hong Kong due to lack of interest from investors.

The FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 per cent at the start of a week that could see the Bank of England raise interest rates for first time since 2007.

On the mergers and acquisitions front, Swiss drugmaker Novartis slipped 0.7 per cent after offering to buy France's Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) in a US$3.9 billion cash deal.

REUTERS