European shares flat, capped by weak corporate outlooks
A trader monitors the screen on a trading floor in London January 22, 2010. — Reuters picLONDON, Feb 12— European shares were flat on Tuesday, with downbeat outlooks from firms such as Dutch navigation devices and digital map company TomTom hitting investor sentiment.
TomTom saw significant declines, off nearly 8 per cent, after saying it expects a sharp drop in earnings in 2013, knocked in part by the weak state of the European car market.
The FTSEurofirst 300 was flat at 1,154.32 by 0813 GMT, after a 0.7 per cent drop on Monday, having slipped around 2 percent from a two-year closing high reached on Jan. 29.
Fund managers indicated that the recent equity retreat looked more like a pause than the start of a serious correction.
"Markets have run out of steam with the short base exhausted which leaves little room for a short squeeze rally. Having said that my feeling is that the dip will be bought as people need a place to put their money," said Lex van Dam, hedge fund manager at Hampstead Capital, which manages around US$500 million assets. — Reuters
