By Josie Cox
Global stocks were mixed Tuesday as downbeat earnings hit shares
in Europe and fresh measures to curb volatility prompted a rally in
China.
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 was trading 0.4% lower around
midday.
Abengoa SA shares slumped more than 15%, deepening sharp losses
from a day earlier triggered by the energy company announcing a
EUR650 million capital increase and a EUR500 million divestment
plan, following poor second-quarter results on Friday.
Shares in Credit Agricole SA fell more than 9%. The lender
posted a sharp jump in second-quarter net profit, recovering from
massive losses it made in Portugal last year, but also said its
plans to revise its complex structure have been put on hold as it
hasn't yet received a green light from regulators.
Standard Life PLC shares fell after the British insurer and
asset manager reported total revenue fell to GBP5.67 billion in the
first half of this year from GBP6.16 billion in the same period
last year.
Oil companies continued to lag. On Tuesday in Europe, the price
of Brent was 1.7% higher at $50.38. The world's benchmark oil price
fell to less than $50 a barrel on Monday for the first time in six
months.
The European subindex of oil and gas was 0.5% lower.
The recent oil slide has prompted Lee Hardman, a strategist at
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, to cut his outlook for the Canadian
dollar, the Norwegian krone and the Russian ruble, he said.
All three currencies traded higher against the U.S. dollar on
Tuesday but have fallen by more than 7% against the buck over the
last three months. Over that same period, Brent crude is down close
to 12%.
In the U.S., futures contracts showed the S&P 500 opening
flat. Futures, however, don't always accurately reflect moves after
the opening bell.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed 3.7% higher after Chinese
authorities late Monday moved to clamp down on short selling by
implementing rules under which investors must wait at least one day
to cover their positions and pay back loans used to buy shares.
When shorting a stock, investors sell borrowed shares in the
belief they can buy them back at a much lower price later on,
pocketing the difference.
Investors also kept a sharp eye on the main stock index in
Athens on Tuesday, which fell 4.5% in early trade and was down 1.3%
around midday.
On Monday, the benchmark Athex Composite opened for the first
time in just over five weeks and closed 16% lower, representing its
biggest fall in percentage terms since at least January 1991,
according to Thomson Reuters data.
Shares in Piraeus Bank SA, Eurobank Ergasias SA, Alpha Bank AE
and National Bank of Greece SA were all down by more than 25% on
Tuesday, mirroring Monday's losses. Athex trading restrictions
prevent stocks from falling by more than 30%.
In currency markets, the euro was slightly higher against the
dollar at $1.097. The dollar was also little changed against
Japan's yen at Yen124.00.
Gold was flat at $1,090.10 per troy ounce.
Write to Josie Cox at josie.cox@wsj.com