-Investors waiting on US employment report

FTSE-100: -0.12%
Dax-30: -0.18%
Cac-40: -0.31%
FTSE Mibtel 30: -0.52%
Ibex 35: -0.48%
Stoxx 600: -0.03%

European equities have started the day slightly lower, as traders pull in their horns -especially following yesterday´s gains- and ahead of the release, this afternoon, of the latest monthly employment report Stateside.

For some any effect from Sandy will only show up in next month´s data, so by itself that should not be a factor in next week´s Presidential elections. However, the bad weather -should it persist- could yet play a role. In any case, today´s data is the last before Americans head to the polls, so even more is in play today than usual.

Acting as a backdrop, some reports are calling attention to the recent improvement in the Baltic Dry Freight index, usually a good indicator for global commerce and growth.

Also of interest, in today´s Financial Times James Mackintosh tells readers that recent market moves -rises led by cyclicals- show that there is quite some optimism as regards economic growth. In his opinion, however, that is only justified if one believes that central banks have more ammunition left in their armouries -or not- as Governor King has recently suggested.

Other considerations to be taken into account by the shortest-term investors and traders are that the last two months of the year are usually amongst the best for equities and the still relatively ´bearish´ sentiment (as a contrarian indicator) of small investors, according to the latest weekly survey data out from AAII.

Alcatel burns a hole in investors´ pockets

Alcatel Lucent is now the worst performer on the Stoxx 600, following its latest results. The company has burned through half a billion euros in cash during the latest reporting period.

Deutsche Telekom is considering slashing its dividend by up to a third from 2013 onwards, German business daily Handelsblatt has reported.

Beiersdorf, the maker of Nivea, has increased its revenue outlook for the year.

The best performance in the DJ Stoxx 600 is now to be seen in the following industrial groups: personal and household goods (0.59%), automobiles (0.53%) and basic resources (0.48%).

Eurozone PMI slightly ahead of forecasts
The Markit Eurozone purchasing managers index for the month of October
has come in 45.4, versus last month´s reading of 46.1 (Consensus: 45.3).

The Markit German purchasing managers index for the month of October
has come in 46, versus last month´s reading of 47.4 (Consensus: 45.7).

The Markit French purchasing managers index for the month of October
has come in 43.7, versus last month´s reading of 42.7 (Consensus: 43.5).

Single currency dropping towards technical support ahead of data
The euro/dollar is now down by 0.53% to the 1.2878 dollar level.

Front month Brent crude futures are off by 0.399 dollars to the 107.74 dollar mark in ICE trading.



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