European Stock Markets Mostly Advance; Oil Retreats 16 Oct 2018

European stock markets mostly rose Tuesday but London dropped as oil prices pulled back from a recent surge.

London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Oct, 2018 ) :European stock markets mostly rose Tuesday but London dropped as oil prices pulled back from a recent surge.

Share prices of heavyweight energy companies, including Shell and BP, declined by about 1.5 percent as crude oil lost more than half a Dollar. London's FTSE was dragged lower also by share price falls for miners.

Frankfurt edged higher despite a closely-watched survey showing that German investor confidence plunged sharply in October, dragged down by fears over US-China trade tensions and a hard Brexit.

The ZEW economic institute's barometer fell 14.1 points to -24.7, the steepest month-on-month drop since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016.

Shares in German car giant Volkswagen jumped 2.1 percent after the company announced that its subsidiary Audi had agreed to pay an 800-million-euro ($927 million) fine issued by prosecutors to close a diesel cheating investigation.

Global stock markets have been rocked in recent days by fears over spiking oil prices, rising US long-term interest rates and an attack by President Donald Trump on his own central bank and its policies.

Tensions over Saudi have meanwhile eased, helping to calm the oil market.

Trump on Monday suggested that "rogue killers" could be to blame for the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi -- an apparent row back from earlier threats of "severe punishment" against the kingdom's government if it turned out he was murdered.

"Investors may not be feeling particularly comfortable yet but we are seeing some welcome stability in the markets on Tuesday, with Europe posting small gains following a mixed session in Asia overnight," noted Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA trading group.

"US futures are also pointing a little higher which will provide some comfort following a number of rather explosive sessions." While Japanese stocks powered higher as investors snapped up bargains following steep losses Monday, other markets in Asia drifted lower as a wait-and-see mood prevailed.

Traders in China were unsettled by inflation data, which rose for the fourth straight month, hitting the highest level since February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

- Key figures around 1015 GMT - London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,002.52 points Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.3 percent at 11,647.15 Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 5,101.49 EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 3,217.19 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 22,549.24 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.1 percent at 25,432.67 Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 2,546.33 (close) New York - Dow Jones: DOWN 0.4 percent at 25,250.55 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1573 from $1.1569 at 0630 GMT Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3199 from $1.3147 at 0630 GMT Dollar/yen: UP at 112.11 from 112.06 Yen at 0630 GMTOil - Brent Crude: DOWN 71 cents at $80.07 per barrelOil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 60 cents at $71.18