- Draghi thinks darkest clouds have passed
- French business confidence drops
- French FM maintains 2013 growth forecast

FTSE-100: 0.09%
Dax 30: 0.22%
Cac-40: -0.33%
FTSE Mibtel 30: -0.72%
Ibex 35: -0.22%
Stoxx 600: 0.07%

The main European equity indices were still registering mixed readings by the midday mark. Those come after a large drop in Asia overnight but renewed advances on Wall Street. The latter were followed by positive results out of Google and IBM after the close of US trading.

In a very positive vein, Portugal is expected to sindicate a medium-term bond issue as a preliminary step before returning to the market. That speculation, in turn, is offering some support to the single currency.

Of interest as well, speaking overnight European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the 'darkest clouds' hanging over the Eurozone have receded.

Perhaps, but there are still those who see some risks. Thus, the head of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), Charles Dallara, stated this morning on Bloomberg TV - on the fringes of the Davos gathering - that Cyprus could yet drag even the likes of Italy and Spain down should the nation's debt sustainability issues not be resolved.

Positive outlooks at SAP and Novartis

Siemens has warned of weakening demand for some of its products after posting a decline in new orders for its fiscal first quarter.

German software giant SAP said it expected operating profit for the current year to reach between €5.85-€5.95bn ($7.77-$7.91bn) at constant currencies, up from €5.21bn last year.

French pharmaceuticals giant Novartis expects sales to return to growth from 2014.

From a sector stand-point the best performance now on the DJ Stoxx 600 are to be seen in: Health Care (1.42%), Technology (1.05%) and Food&Beverage (-0.58%).

Large drop in French business confidence
The Italian current account moved into a surplus during the month of November, to the tune of €683m versus a deficit of €245m for the month before. The country's trade surplus with countries outside the European Union improved to €3.3bn in December against a reading of €1.9bn in the month before.

France's business confidence index for the month of January fell back sharply to a reading of 86, versus the previous month's reading of 89 (Consensus: 90).

The Spanish economy contracted at a rate of 0.6% quarter-on-quarter during the last three months of 2012, according to the country's central bank.

Eurozone government debt rose slightly in the third quarter of last year, to 90% from 89.9% in the previous quarter.

French finance minister Pierre Moscovici maintained his 0.8% GDP growth forecast for 2013.

Slight gains in other asset classes
The euro/dollar is now 0.23% higher at the 1.3352 mark.

Front month Brent crude futures are now lower by 0.027 to the 112.40 dollar mark on the ICE.



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