Europe open: Stocks rise but gains limited ahead of GDP, inflation figures

(Sharecast News) - European stocks edged higher on Tuesday morning, though gains were modest as investors awaited key economic growth and inflation figures from the Eurozone. The Stoxx 600 index was up 0.3% early on, with gained of 0.5% in Milan, 0.3% in Paris, 0.2% in Frankfurt and 0.1% in London offset by a 0.4% fall in Madrid.

Eurostat is scheduled to release Eurozone GDP figures at 1000 GMT, which are expected to show that annual growth slowed to 0.2% in the third quarter, from 0.5% in the second. Quarter-on-quarter, growth is forecast to have stalled.

Meanwhile, the consumer price index for the single-currency area is estimated to have risen 3.1% year-on-year in October, slowing substantially from the 4.3% inflation rate seen in September. The core rate of inflation is expected to slow to 4.2% from 4.5%.

In other news, retail sales in Germany unexpectedly slumped 0.8% in September, government figures revealed on Tuesday, capping off a weak third quarter for the economy. This was better than the 1.2% decline seen in August but under analysts' expectations of an increase of 0.5%.

"This caps what was almost surely a quarter to forget for the German consumer, in contrast to the strong performance in France," said economist Claus Vistesen from Pantheon Macroeconomics. "The decline means that retail sales fell by 1.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q3, consistent with the indication in the advance Q3 GDP report that consumers' spending was a drag on growth."

Spanish banks drop

Spain's Ibex 35 was the only major index in the red early on, with falls in the heavyweight banking sector providing a drag. BBVA was down 3% despite beating forecasts with a 13% rise in third-quarter net profits to €2.1bn, as it booked a 29% increase in provisions and reported a loss in Turkey.

Sector peers CaixaBank and Bankinter were also in the red.

Belgian drinks giant AB InBev saw shares rise after reporting a 5% increase in revenue in the third quarter to $15.1bn and a 4.1% rise in EBITDA. The company reiterated its guidance for 4-8% EBITDA growth in the medium term.

In London, BP was down 5% after the oil titan missed profit forecasts for the third quarter. The company reported an underlying replacement cost profit of $3.3bn, an improvement from the $2.6bn recorded in the second quarter but below the $4bn expected by analysts.