European stocks little changed

London - Earnings updates from ABB to Telefonica gave investors mixed signals on the outlook for corporate health, prompting fluctuations in European stocks.

ABB tumbled 6.4% after the industrial firm reported a decline in orders, seen as an indication of future sales.

Nokia Oyj plunged 6.8% after warning that slowing demand for wireless-network equipment will continue to hurt revenue this quarter. Barclays rose 3.2% after reporting an increase in profit.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added less than 0.1% at 1:21 in London, after swinging between gains and losses of 0.5%. The benchmark is heading for its first back-to-back monthly retreat since the start of the year.

"It’s a classic case of markets fluctuating depending on the quality and strength of company results in the middle of the earnings season," said Jacques Porta, who manages €50m at Ofi Patrimoine Gestion Privee in Paris.

"The visibility on European earnings is weak, considering the economic growth. The macroeconomic outlook is not as robust as in the US."

Investors are assessing prospects for earnings at a time when the UK’s secession vote and political momentum for anti-establishment parties threaten an already fragile European recovery.

The euro-area economy is forecast to grow at a pace of 1.5% or slower in the next two years, versus 2.1% for the US.

Weaker-than-forecast corporate results have prompted equity declines this week, unravelling gains that took the Stoxx 600 to a two-week high on October 20 amid optimism over central-bank policy support.

The benchmark trades below its level on the day of the Brexit vote, after briefly rising above it in September. Analysts project a 4.3% decline in Stoxx 600 company profits in 2016.

Among other shares active on corporate news:

Telefonica fell 2.1% as Europe’s most indebted phone company cut its 2017 dividend after failing to sell its UK wireless unit.

ASM International lost 1.7% after the semiconductor company posted a drop in third-quarter sales. Fingerprint Cards retreated 3% as the biometric-sensor maker reported worse-than-estimated profit.

Amec Foster Wheeler plunged 20% after the energy-services company said it sees continued weakness in some key markets.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria added 1.8% after its earnings beat analyst estimates. STMicroelectronics gained 10% after its forecast for fourth-quarter gross margin exceeded estimates.

Technip climbed 3.1% as the oil-service provider posted results that topped projections.