European Shares Mostly Lower As Earnings Prove A Mixed Bag

(RTTNews) - European stocks are trading mostly lower on Friday, although French shares reversed early losses after the release of encouraging Eurozone economic confidence data.

Underlying sentiment remains cautious somewhat, as a global bond selloff deepened on expectations of tighter central bank policies and the earnings season proved a mixed bag.

U.S. rate hike worries also kept investors nervous ahead of crucial U.S. jobs data due tonight that could strengthen the case for the Federal Reserve to raise rates by the year-end.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index is currently down half a percent at 340.10 in midday trading after ending flat with a negative bias the previous day.

The German DAX is losing 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 is declining 0.2 percent, while France's CAC 40 index is rising 0.1 percent.

Royal Bank of Scotland shares are moving down 1.5 percent in London. The lender warned of a "range of uncertainties" after reporting a £469m loss for the July-to-September period.

AB InBev shares are tumbling 5 percent as the world's largest brewer cut its revenue forecast for the year, citing challenging market conditions in Brazil.

Italian oil & gas company Eni is losing 2.5 percent after posting a third-quarter net loss.

British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group is rallying almost 6 percent despite cutting its 2016 earnings forecast.

Similarly, Swiss lender UBS Group AG is rising 1 percent despite warning of tough markets.

Swedish home appliance manufacturer Electrolux is rising 1 percent after its third-quarter profit beat expectations.

In economic releases, survey data from the European Commission showed that a gauge of Eurozone economic confidence hit a 10-month high in October. The headline index rose more than expected to 106.3 from 104.9 in September. Separately, French consumer spending unexpectedly dropped 0.2 percent in September after a 0.8 percent increase in August, which was revised from 0.7 percent, preliminary data from statistical office INSEE revealed.

The French annual consumer price inflation remained stable at 0.4 percent in October, while producer prices edged up 0.1 percent month-over-month in September, after remaining flat in the previous month.