Busy day for earnings

On Thursday European stocks struggled for traction on one of the busiest days for earnings of the year, after a series of positive corporate results spurred equities across Asia. The dollar steadied after slumping in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s latest decision.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index swung between gains and losses as companies including Nokia Oyj and BASF SE beat estimates but the likes of Deutsche Bank AG and Airbus SE disappointed. Healthcare stocks fell after AstraZeneca Plc suffered a setback to its nextgeneration cancer medicine. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index pared an earlier drop, but still traded near the lowest in more than a year after the Fed held rates steady and altered its wording around inflation. European government bonds rose.

The U.S. central bank said near-term risks to the economic outlook appear balanced, but consumer price growth remains below its target, signaling policy makers may kick off a reduction in the Fed’s $4.5 trillion balance sheet in September even as they avoid rushing to raise rates. As the initial market reaction faded, investors returned their focus to a corporate earnings season in which more than 80 percent of S&P 500 companies that have reported so far delivered higherthan-expected profit.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained less than 0.1 percent. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index increased less than 0.1 percent. Germany’s DAX Index fell 0.4 percent. The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.8 percent to the highest in about three years.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6 percent to $48.40 a barrel. Gold gained 0.2 percent to $1,263.41 an ounce, the strongest in more than six weeks.

Solid earnings from giants Samsung Electronics Co. and Nintendo Co. helped Asian stocks to the highest since 2007. Japan’s Topix index rose 0.4 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.2 percent.