European Stocks Rebound Before Italy Budget Update, Oil Slumps

European stock markets rebounded on Tuesday, with all eyes on heavily indebted Italy, whose populist government is set to defy the EU over its big spending plans.

London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Nov, 2018 ) :European stock markets rebounded on Tuesday, with all eyes on heavily indebted Italy, whose populist government is set to defy the EU over its big spending plans.

Oil prices meanwhile slumped after US President Donald Trump urged producing nations not to cut output.

In eurozone midday deals, Milan's MIB stocks index crept up 0.1 percent, Frankfurt's DAX 30 jumped 0.8 percent and the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.4 percent.

European equities had tumbled Monday, with Frankfurt shedding 1.8 percent, in part on concerns over Tuesday's EU-deadline for Rome to revise its 2019 budget.

In foreign exchange, the euro recovered Tuesday from a 17-month low of $1.1216 at the start of the week.

Earlier in Asia, shares in technology firms slid, tracking a deep sell-off Monday in New York, where Apple was hammered by worries about demand for its iPhones, while energy firms also fell with oil prices.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 meanwhile gained 0.3 percent Tuesday nearing the half-way stage, with investors keenly awaiting an announcement that Britain has sealed a deal over Brexit.

Official data revealed a pick-up in UK wages growth, boosting the pound and offsetting news of a slight increase in unemployment.

European "stock markets are higher... as sentiment is slightly more optimistic despite the political risks", noted David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

"The Italian market is in the red as traders are on edge over the budget." Italy's populist government was set Tuesday to defy the European Commission, preferring to risk financial sanctions than revise its big-spending budget.

The coalition had been given time to change its 2019 plans but insists an anti-austerity approach will help kickstart growth in the eurozone's third largest economy, and consequently reduce the public debt and deficit.

But Brussels forecasts Italy's deficit will reach 2.

9 percent of its Gross Domestic Product in 2019 and hit 3.1 percent in 2020 -- breaching the EU's 3.0 percent limit.

Regarding the oil market, crude futures fell sharply Tuesday.

The commodity enjoyed a healthy rise Monday after Saudi Arabia called for a global output cut of one million barrels per day and unveiled plans to trim its own production by 500,000 barrels from December.

However, Trump later hit out at the announcement in a tweet calling for prices to go lower.

"Hopefully, Saudi Arabia and OPEC will not be cutting oil production. Oil prices should be much lower based on supply!" he wrote.

OPEC on Tuesday trimmed its global oil demand growth forecasts for this year and next, as kingpin Saudi Arabia tries to cut output to bolster prices in a weakening market.

Crude has been torpedoed since hitting four-year highs last month as dealers fret about oversupply, weakening demand and worries about the impact of the China-US trade war.

Signs of a softer-than-expected impact from US sanctions on Iranian crude exports have also weighed on prices in recent weeks.

- Key figures around 1130 GMT - Milan - FTSE MIB: UP 0.1 percent at 19,068.11 points London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,073.98 Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.8 percent at 11,411.46 Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 5,081.28 EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.6 percent at 3,212.38 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.1 percent at 21,810.52 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.6 percent at 25,792.87 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 2,654.88 (close) New York - Dow: DOWN 2.3 percent at 25,387.18 (close) Oil - Brent Crude: DOWN $1.31 at $68.81 per barrel Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN $1.23 at $58.70 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1248 from $1.1218 at 2200 GMT FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2919 from $1.2848 Dollar/yen: UP at 114.04 Yen from 113.85 yen