European stocks opened the Tuesday trading session with a cautious tone as investors prepared for a key budget statement from the U.K. government but found solid support from corporate and economic data from Germany.
The region-wide Stoxx 600 Europe Index was little-changed at 372.21 points by 09:00 GMT, with most major benchmarks recording modestly declines in the opening hour of trading. Germany's DAX performance index, however, was trading 0.04% higher at 11.969.36 points thanks to an impressive surge for Adidas AG (ADDYY) and stronger-than-expected industrial production data.
Adidas rose more than 7.7% in early trading to change hands at €172.10 each in Frankfurt, extending their three-month gain past 20%, outpacing the 8.54% gain for Nike (NKE) and far ahead of the 39% slide for Under Armour (UAA) after the sportswear group boosted 2017 sales targets and vowed to maintain focus on the U.S. market after a mixed set of full year earnings.
German stocks were also supported by industrial output data which offset a worrying drop in industrial orders Tuesday that had stoked concerns of a slowdown in Europe's biggest economy. Industrial production in January increased by 2.8% from the year ago period, the Economy Ministry said, driven by a 3.7% surge in manufacturing output.
U.K. investors, however, will likely wait for Chancellor Philip Hammond's budget statement at 12:30 GMT, in order to gauge broader sentiment as the country's de-facto Finance Minister, will deliver the annual budget statement to parliament Wednesday just hours after the Upper Chamber, known as the House of Lords, altered a key government policy aim and demanded a full parliamentary vote on the outcome of any Brexit deal it presents to the European Union.
