Europe midday: Shares move into the green, as Ambu, BP please investors

European shares moved into positive territory on Tuesday, as investors eyed a policy speech by US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell later in the day for any new signs of monetary policy direction after renewed fears of more interest rate hikes.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 03% at 1120 GMT with most major bourses turning green. Germany's DAX reversed gains to turn red by midday.

In economic news, German industrial production fell more than expected in December, down 3.1% on the previous month, the federal statistical office said.

Analysts had forecast a fall 0.7% for the month. For full-year 2022 industrial production was 0.6% lower in calendar-adjusted terms year on year and down 5% from pre-Covid pandemic 2019.

In equity news, BP gained almost 3% as it more than doubled annual profits to $27bn, lifted its dividend by 10% and announced a $2.75bn share buyback.

Ambu was up 12% after the Danish medical device company reported strong first-quarter revenue results. Sales increased organically by 4%, while reported growth for the quarter was 10%, according to Ambu’s interim report.

BNP Paribas shares fell as the lender posted lower-than-expected quarterly profits as a jump of its cost of risk and higher operating expenses offset a boom in its trading sales. The bank still raised its 2025 targets and announced a €5bn share buyback.

Ams-Osram slumped 21% after missing revenue forecasts and Nordic Semiconductor was off almost 18% as quarterly core profit estimates came in below expectations.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com