(RTTNews) - After heavy losses in the previous session, European stocks may open on a flat note with a positive bias on Tuesday. That said, volatility may persist as investors brace for a raft of third-quarter earnings reports as well as a report on U.S. consumer confidence from the Conference Board.

Asian stocks witnessed broad-based selling on Tuesday on concerns the recent rally in global equities has outpaced the outlook for earnings and the global economy. Energy and metal stocks bore the brunt of the selling pressure hurt by weakening commodity prices.

Crude oil price fell sharply from a yearly high on Monday as global equities fell, raising concerns over the economic recovery. A stronger U.S. dollar also lessened oil’s hedge value. Light sweet crude for December delivery fell to $78.68, down $1.82 on the session. However, in Asian trading on Tuesday, crude oil price held steady at below $79 a barrel.

On the economic front, monetary policy committee member of the Bank of England, Adam Posen said the quantitative easing measures would not lead to unacceptably high inflation at any time horizon.

In his first speech as an external member of the MPC, Posen said, “There is no evidence from relevant periods of U.K or other major economies’ economic history that QE will result in high or sustained inflation.” He added, “High inflation is not what we should be worrying about.”

A report from France’s Ministry of Labor and Employment revealed that the number of unemployed people increased 0.8% or 21,600 in September compared with the previous month. From the previous year, unemployment rose 25.1%.

On Wall Street, stocks saw steep losses on Monday amid a considerable pullback in the financial and commodity sectors. Some negative analyst comments about the financial sector also hurt sentiment. The Dow closed with a loss of 1.05%, the Nasdaq declined 0.59% and the S&P 500 shed 1.17%.

In corporate news, Unilever announced that it has decided to transition out of the current Smart Choices Program logo to develop standardized criteria on which future front-of-package nutrition or shelf labeling will be based.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved GlaxoSmithKline’s Arzerra (ofatumumab) for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or CLL, a slowly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

Dassault Systemes SA, a French developer of 3D and Product Lifecycle Management solutions, said it agreed to buy IBM’s PLM sales and client support operations for $600 million in cash.

French chemicals maker Arkema SA said it will increase capacity at is Kynar PVDF resin plant in Calvert City by 15 percent by early 2010.

Spain’s airline Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA canceled about 400 flights on Monday and Tuesday to cope up with a planned strike by cabin crew.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services lowered its rating on ING Groep NV’s insurance holding firm
ING Verzekeringen NV, citing a restructuring plan.

SMA Solar Technology AG said it would set up an additional factory in Denver, Colorado, which will have an annual capacity of about one gigawatt.

Akzo Nobel said its third-quarter net income rose 30% to EUR 197 million from EUR 152 million in the prior-year period.

The European markets fell for the third day on Monday, as banking and insurance stocks slipped on speculation that financial companies will need to raise more capital.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips closed 1.12% lower, while the narrower DJ Stoxx 50 index fell 1.17%. Around Europe, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index fell 0.97%, France’s CAC 40 index slipped 1.68% and Germany’s DAX index dropped 1.71%.

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Posted in Categories: Eurozone, Releases, Stocks, UK, USA.

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