European Markets Try to Hang On to Early Gains

European stocks were little changed after the Christmas holiday as U.S. lawmakers return toWashington to try for a solution to the fiscal cliff. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares advanced.

Clariant (CLN) AG, a Swiss chemical company, rose 3.5 percent after selling three units. Total SA (FP), France’s biggest oil company, climbed 1.4 percent. Bankia tumbled 14 percent as Spain’s bank-rescue fund said its parent company has a negative value of 10.4 billion euros ($13.8 billion).

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) increased 0.1 percent to 280.76 as of 10:50 a.m. in London. Trading volume was 17 percent less than the 30-day average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The gauge has rallied 15 percent in 2012 as the European Central Bank introduced an unlimited bond-buying program, putting it on course for the best year since 2009.

“What will give the market direction is fiscal-cliff news,” saidArnaud Scarpaci, a fund manager at Montaigne Capital in Paris, which oversees $225 million. “If there isn’t an agreement tonight, we can start worrying. If there is an agreement, we can have a little rally.”

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent today. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) rose 0.4 percent as Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average surged to the highest since March 2011 amid calls from the new government for more monetary easing…”

Full article