Europe midday: Stocks higher despite very weak PMIs
Stocks on the Continent are trading slightly higher in reaction to the more positive headlines around the ongoing trade talks between the US and China.
Overnight, the US President and two high-ranking Chinese officials appeared to strike a positive note regarding the possibility of making progress on trade negotiations between the two countries at the G-20 summit scheduled for next week in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
However, the boost to markets wore off quickly following the release of poor readings on two key gauges of factory and services sector activity in the Eurozone.
As of noon, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was ahead by 0.18% or 0.65 points to 353.24, alongside a 0.21% or 22.89 point gain for the German Dax to 11,161.21, while the FTSE Mibtel was up by 0.57% or 105.22 points to 18,708.40.
IHS Markit's 'flash' euro area manufacturing sector Purchasing Managers' Index printed at 51.5 for November, a 30-month low, and down from 52.0 in October.
The equivalent PMI for the services sector meanwhile dropped from 53.7 to 53.1, hitting a 25-month low.
Commenting on the figures, Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said: "As such, the survey data suggest that the weakness of GDP in the third quarter may not have been a blip, and that the underlying trend is one of slower economic growth. The PMI readings so far in the fourth quarter are indicative of 0.3% GDP growth, with forward-looking indicators such as new orders and future expectations remaining worryingly subdued."
In parallel, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Italian Treasury note was down by eight basis points to 3.37%,
Yet according to ANSA, earlier in the session Italian deputy prime minister, Luigi di Maio, had said Rome was willing to take talks with the European Commission to the "bitter end" in order to reach an agreement.
On the corporate front, shares in Greece's Piraeus Bank were up by 2.69% to €0.95 amid reports that Athens was weighing up a plan to help the country's lenders speed-up its bad loan disposals, possibly including by providing a state guarantee.