European shares edged ahead at the open on Tuesday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of more major corporate US earnings later in the day.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.4% with regional markets mixed. Asian shares closed broadly higher overnight.
“The Bank of England has put the cat among the pigeons with its hawkish talk, nudging markets to price in some hikes in the next year that just weren’t expected a few weeks ago,” said Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson.
That’s seen the yield curve flatten with many arguing that central banks shouldn’t be hiking into a supply-side inflation crunch.”
In equity news, shares in UK housebuilder Bellway rose to the top of the Stoxx as the company increased its final dividend by almost two-thirds after reporting a 72% increase in annual profit and a solid order book.
Underlying pretax profit rose to £530.8m in the 12 months to the end of July from £309.3m a year earlier as revenue increased 40% to £3.12bn. The group increased its final dividend by 65% to 82.5p a share taking the annual payout to 117.5p – up 135%.
French food group Danone slipped 1.3% after recording rising costs and slower sales growth in the third quarter.
Swedish telecoms operator Tele2 fell despite posting quarterly core earnings in line with market expectations.
