Earnings, retailers drag on index

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EARNINGS, RETAILERS DRAG ON INDEX (0917 GMT)

The pan-European STOXX 600 is up 0.1% this morning, as a spate of less than impressive earnings drags on the index.

Vodafone shares, down 5.5%, are providing the biggest negative weight, after the European mobile operator cut its outlook citing a challenging economic backdrop.

But Danish medical device maker Ambu is the biggest loser on a percentage basis, down 14.2% after issuing a cautious outlook.

On a sector basis retailers are faring worst, down 1%, as supermarket Ocado saw shares drop as much as 11% in early trading while B&M shares fell 3.9%.

Utilities are the best performing on a sector basis, trading 0.9% higher as UK power generator Drax Group shares rise 4.5%. British Gas owner Centrica shares are also up 4.1% after the company launched a share buyback.

EUROPEAN FUTURES SIGNAL MIXED SESSION (0735 GMT)

FTSE futures are lagging the rest of Europe pre-open, trading virtually flat versus a 0.54% lift for STOXX futures and DAX futures.

Britain's unemployment rate rose to 3.6% in the three months to September - growing more than economists polled by Reuters, who had expected the jobless rate to remain at 3.5%.

Meanwhile earnings are still trickling through, and are a mixed bag today, with some key British companies reporting.

British commercial property firm Land Securities slumped to a half-year loss, as property valuations fell due to surging interest rates and inflation, while Vodafone cut its full-year free cash flow forecast and said earnings would come in towards the bottom of its range.

Britain's biggest defence company BAE Systems forecast more growth for 2023 and Germany's Infineon Technologies raised its long-term financial targets.

Beyond Europe, the latest data out of China has dampened the previously buoyant mood encouraged by signs that the world's second-largest economy may loosen some COVID-19 restrictions, which have hit factory output and retail sales.

More murky numbers came from Japan, where the economy unexpectedly shrank for the first time in a year in the third quarter.

Collapsed crypto exchange FTX released official bankruptcy filings earlier today.

LET'S TALK RATES AGAIN (0709 GMT)

Just as investors were starting to put aside worries of rate increases from the Federal Reserve, the narrative is again shifting to tighter U.S. monetary policy.

In Europe also, policy makers are reminding markets that as long as broad-based inflation is not tamed, rate increases are still on the agenda.

France's central bank chief said in a speech in Tokyo the European Central Bank will probably keep raising interest rates beyond 2%, but "jumbo" rate hikes will not become a new habit.

The comments came a day after Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan issued another rate increase warning, saying it was likely the central bank will need to act again as inflation is set to remain elevated.

Tuesday's data calendar has jobs figures due from the United Kingdom along with euro zone third-quarter GDP numbers and Germany's ZEW sentiment index.

News from China was disappointing as data showed factory output grew more slowly than expected and retail sales unexpectedly dropped in October, suggesting the world's second-largest economy is losing momentum.

Still, investors seemed to pay more attention to the easing of tensions in U.S.-China relations after the heads of the world's top two economies met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Asian stock markets advanced, with Chinese and Hong Kong shares - big underperformers so far this year - logging strong gains.

The dollar index was steady after it recovered on Monday from a three-month low struck on Friday.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is expected to announce another White House bid on Tuesday even as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is cementing himself as the Republican Party's top rising star.

Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday:

Economic data: UK Sep jobs, Euro zone Q3 employment, GDP flash GDP, Germany ZEW sentiment index

U.S. data: NY Fed manufacturing index, Oct PPI data

Speakers: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker

Earnings: Vodafone, Infineon Technologies, Walmart, Home Depot