Most European stocks gained as Publicis Groupe SA posted increased profit while Ericsson AB and SAP AG reported sales that missed estimates. U.S. index futures and Asian shares were little changed.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke delivers his second day of semi-annual testimony to Congress on monetary policy today, facing questions from the Senate Banking Committee. Yesterday he said that the pace of the economic recovery will determine when the U.S. central bank starts reducing its program of quantitative easing.
Publicis climbed 2.8 percent to 59.49 euros in Paris trading as first-half net income rose 15 percent to 314 million euros. Revenue increased 8.7 percent to 3.35 billion euros, topping the 3.31 billion-euro average of five analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
WPP Plc, the world’s biggest advertising company, advanced 2.4 percent to 1,196 pence in
Ericsson retreated 4.3 percent to 76.20 kronor after it reported revenue that missed estimates as competition with Huawei Technologies Co. for contracts to build and service phone systems intensified. Second-quarter sales were little changed at 55.3 billion kronor ($8.4 billion), compared with the 56 billion-krona average forecast of analysts. Ericsson’s gross margin, a measure of profitability, also fell short of estimates.
SAP dropped 2.1 percent to 56.48 euros. Sales of software licenses, an indicator of future revenue, slipped about 3 percent to 982 million euros ($1.3 billion) excluding currency swings in the second quarter, the Walldorf, Germany-based company said. Analysts had projected 1.02 billion euros, according to the average of seven estimates.
FTSE 100 6,593.5 +21.57 +0.33%
CAC 40 3,881.26 +9.24 +0.24%
DAX 8,252.11 -2.61 -0.03%