Europe open: Shares steady despite analysts' caution
Stocks on the Continent are little changed in early trading following a short-lived bounce at the open amid continued wariness on the part of traders in the face of the nCoV Coronavirus in China.
"Stock markets are subdued this morning in the wake of the enormous losses that were registered yesterday [...] The fact there isn’t much bargain hunting or short covering going on this morning suggests that dealers are still fearful the health crisis is likely to get worse before it gets better," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
Reports overnight indicated that the death toll from the new China virus had hit 106 people even as the country's authorities fought to contain it within Hubei province and the logistical hub of Wuhan and as researchers around the world rushed to find an antidote.
As of 1000 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was little changed, up by 0.02% to 414.15, alongside a dip of 0.13% to 13,186.65 for the German Dax and a rise of 0.65% to 23,568.32 on the FTSE Mibtel.
In parallel, front month Brent crude oil futures were dropping 1.1% to $58.69 a barrel on the ICE.
Airbus was an earlty top gainer on news that the planemaker had decided to settle with French, British and American authorities in a probe into alleged bribery and corruption.
Renault shares meanwhile were recovering from early weakness, amid reports that its board may be set to select the head of Volkswagen's Seat unit as its next chief.
Shares of Dutch health technology outfit Philips were trading lower after it posted a lower-than-expected fourth quarter increase in sales of 3.3% (consensus: 5.2%).
The company also announced the possible sale of its kitchen appliance unit.
No major economic reports were scheduled for release on Tuesday.