European Stocks Open Higher

Source from：http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704506004576173681915933232.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

LONDON—European stocks were higher Tuesday, but with investors still worried about the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, and its impact on oil prices, gains were expected to be limited.

London's FTSE 100 index rose 0.7% to 6037.69, Frankfurt's DAX index was 0.7% higher at 7322.71, and Paris's CAC-40 index was up 0.5% to 4130.81.

Trading is likely to remain light ahead of the meeting of the European Central Bank on Thursday and Friday's key employment report out of the U.S.

The price of spot gold rose as some traders moved out of stocks to the safety of gold. The price was last at $1,414.45 a troy ounce, up $6.35 from its New York close on Monday. The March Nymex crude oil futures contract was 22 cents higher at $97.19 a barrel.

In corporate news, shares in BASF gained 1.9% after the company said it plans to sell major parts of its fertilizers activities, including production plants in Antwerp, Belgium and BASF's 50% share of the joint venture PEC-Rhin in Ottmarsheim, France.

In Asia overnight, stock markets were largely higher, with shares in China rising as concerns about further tightening measures from Beijing eased following two separate surveys that showed the country's manufacturing growth slowed in February.

China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.1%. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 1.2% higher. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended down 0.1% after the country's central bank left interest rates steady, and South Korean markets were shut for a public holiday.

In China, both the official and the HSBC purchasing managers indexes for February were lower. "We expect the PMI to retreat further in the months ahead, that may diminish the likelihood of stronger tightening measures from Beijing," said Tang Yonggang, an analyst from Hong Yuan Securities.

Japanese stocks were cheered by the weaker yen, the decline in crude oil futures and expectations for solid numbers for the U.S. ISM data due later Tuesday.

In the U.S. Monday, stocks rose on the final day of their third-straight month in the black, with investors relieved by the pause in oil prices from their recent rally and comments from a top Federal Reserve official.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8% to 12226.34, the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1% to 2782.27, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index added 0.6% to 1327.22.

The Dow ended the month with a 2.8% gain, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 3.0% in February and the S&P 500 added 3.2%, representing the measures' third-straight month in the black. For the Dow and the S&P 500, this month also represented their biggest February gains since 1998.

In currency markets, the gains in equity markets boosted demand for currencies perceived as riskier, with the euro and sterling both strengthening.

The euro was at $1.3809, up from $1.3805. Sterling pushed above $1.630 for the first time since January 2010, and last traded at $1.6303, up from $1.6256.