European stocks mixed; Siemens helps DAX outperform

By Peter Nurse 

Investing.com - European stock markets traded in a mixed fashion Thursday, with strong results from Siemens helping Germany outperform ahead of the latest U.K. fiscal statement and the release of key Eurozone inflation data.

At 04:10 ET (09:10 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.4% higher, while CAC 40 in France fell 0.1% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. dropped 0.4%.

The circumstances surrounding the missile blast affecting a village in Poland close to the frontier with Ukraine late Tuesday remained uncertain, but NATO officials appear to have cleared Russia from immediate blame, easing fears that the war between Russia and Ukraine was set to escalate into the territory of the Western alliance.

Elsewhere, attention is likely to be on the U.K. Chancellor's Autumn Statement later in the session, with hefty tax hikes and spending cuts on the menu as the government tries to plug a substantial fiscal ‘black hole’, only made worse by Downing Street's last effort at a mini-budget. 

The highlight of Thursday’s European data slate is the latest release of the CPI figure for the Eurozone for October, which is expected to be confirmed at an annual rise of 10.7%, up 1.5% on the month.   

Turning to the corporate sector, Siemens (ETR:SIEGn) stock soared 8%, climbing to an eight-month high, after the German engineering giant posted a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit at its industrial business, offering up a dividend increase and a strikingly upbeat outlook for the next 12 months.

Thyssenkrupp (ETR:TKAG) stock rose 0.9% after the engineering company proposed a dividend for the past financial year, its first payout in four years, on the back of strong price increases for steel and materials.

Burberry (LON:BRBY) traded largely flat after the British fashion house outlined a new design strategy in a long-term bid to boost sales.

Oil prices fell Thursday as geopolitical concerns eased after NATO officials cleared Russia from blame for the missile attack on Poland, easing fears of the war between Russian and Ukraine broadening.

Data released Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration showed that crude stocks in the United States, the world's biggest oil consumer, fell by 5.4 million barrels last week, largely matching the previous day’s release from the industry body, the American Petroleum Institute.

However, inventories of gasoline and distillate fuels both rose by more than expected, leaving an unclear picture. 

By 04:10 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.8% lower at $84.89 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 0.5% to $92.38. 

Additionally, gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,769.90/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.0383.