- Slight rise in most benchmarks
- German GDP slightly below forecasts
- Spanish bond yields again under pressure

FTSE 100: 0.10%
Dax-30: -0.03%
Cac-40: 0.10%
FTSE Mibtel 30: 0.23%
Ibex 35: -0.50%
Stoxx 600: 0.03%

The main European equity benchmarks have turned higher in early trading despite the mixed close to trading seem last night on Wall Street and the reappearance of tensions on Capitol Hill over the federal government debt limit and fiscal consolidation.

Of interest, however, last night ratings agency Standard&Poor's (S&P) raised its outlook on the sovereign debt ratings for Finland and Luxembourg.

In a more negative vein, this morning Fitch indicated that it expects AAA sovereigns to remain under pressure this year due to the risk of a hard landing in China and the tensions relating to the US fiscal cliff.

French utility EdF will announce cost cuts of €1bn by 2015 when it releases its full-year results next month, French daily Le Figaro said.

Daimler is not aware of China Investment Corp's (CIC) plans to take a stake in the company and is not in talks with CIC, Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told reporters at the Detroit auto show on Monday, Reuters reports.

From a sector stand-point the best performance is now to be seen in shares of Basic Resources (0.81%), Retail (0.80%) and Personal&Household goods (0.68%).

Weaker than expected German GDP

Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an 0.7% year-on-year pace in 2012, below the 0.8% pace expected and the previous year's rate of 3%. Economic activity however contracted at a 0.5% pace in the last three months of the year.

Italian consumer prices increased at a 2.3% year-on-year clip in December, versus a rise of 2.4% in November.

The Netherlands' trade surplus rose to €4.3bn in November, after a reading of €3.6bn for the month before.

Single currency nudges higher
The euro/dollar is now rising slightly, by 0.03% to the 1.3382 dollar mark. Deutsche Bank expects the single currency to reach 1.40 in its cross versus the US unit this year.

Front month Brent crude futures are now gaining 0,289 dollars to the 112.17 dollar mark on the ICE.



AB

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