European shares steady as utilities' bounce offset by weak miners

MILAN: European shares steadied on Tuesday as a rebound in utilities and crude prices was offset by sharp falls among mining stocks, while telecoms equipment maker Nokia slumped after a disappointing earnings outlook update.

The STOXX 600 index rose 0.1 percent, with mining shares, among the best performers this year, dropping for a second session on the back of falling metal prices.

Hopes of huge fiscal stimulus in the US under Donald Trump's administration have fueled a rally in bond yields and rate hike expectations, prompting investors to favour financials over dividend-paying sectors such as utilities or real estate.

But the bond sell-off abated, taking some pressure off the utilities and real estate sectors, which were among the best performers in Europe with gains of 1 and 1.5 percent respectively.

German utility RWE rose 2.5 percent, supported by an upgrade to hold at Kepler, while German property firm Deutsche Wohnen also rebounded after lifting its guidance. Italian gas grid operator Snam was up 1.6 percent after broadly in-line results.

Rising yields have made dividend paying sectors relatively less attractive, but financial companies have benefited because that eases pressure on their margins. The pause in the bond sell-off prompted profit taking among financial stocks, with the bank sector index down 0.7 percent.

Monte dei Paschi fell 11 percent after the ailing Italian lender announced the terms of a debt-to-equity swap, a key plank of a plan to avoid the bank being wound down.

But shares in British asset manager Intermediate Capital Group rose 8.5 percent, the top STOXX 600 gainer, after saying that its first half assets rose 2 percent.

Nokia was the biggest faller on the STOXX with a drop of 5.7 percent. The company expects its sales to fall around 2 percent next year, in line with the broader telecoms network businesses in which it operates, but forecasts the market and its own business will return to modest growth in 2018.

JP Morgan said 2017 margin guidance was below consensus but noted how Nokia traditionally issues an unambitious guidance.

British American Tobacco was up 0.4 percent after sources said US rival Reynolds American is seeking a higher price from the British cigarette maker after rejecting its $47 billion takeover offer.

The oil and gas index rose 2.2 percent as oil prices rallied, bouncing back from multi-month lows on optimism that OPEC will agree later this month to cut production to reduce a supply glut.