European stocks little changed as luxury shares advance

On Tuesday European stocks were little changed as investors speculated on a Federal Reserve rate increase this year, while luxury shares advanced.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2 percent at 10:26 a.m. in London. Corporate earnings are also in focus, with LVMH among the biggest gainers in the benchmark, up 5.5 percent after posting sales that topped analysts’ estimates. Christian Dior SE and Swatch Group AG rose at least 3.8 percent. More than 150 Stoxx 600 companies are due to report results this month.

European stocks have had a shaky start in October, a month in which they have posted gains in five of the past six years. The Stoxx 600 on Friday extended its fourth weekly drop in five amid strong U.S. data that stoked expectations for higher borrowing costs, and a respite yesterday proved short-lived.

In addition to central-bank woes, European stock investors are facing political risks from Italy’s referendum and the fallout of U.K.’s secession vote as they head into the final months of the year. The region’s equity funds have seen outflows for a record 35 weeks, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report showed last week, and the Stoxx 600 is poised to post its first annual drop since 2011.

Among other stocks active on Tuesday, Old Mutual Plc — which gets most of its revenue from South Africa — fell 3.2 percent in London after a report the country’s finance minister will be charged with fraud. Separately, its wealth-management unit said it expects market conditions to remain difficult because of uncertainty around Brexit.

Asian stocks fell the most this month as Samsung Electronics Co. dragged down technology shares, overshadowing an oil-driven rally in energy companies. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.6 percent to 139.68 as of 4:05 p.m. in Hong Kong after climbing as much as 0.3 percent.