Stocks Mixed After Euro Zone Data

European shares were mixed in morning trade on Tuesday as a raft of economic data was released for the euro zone. The FTSEurofirst 300 Index was slightly higher as inflation and unemployment data, as well as a series of earnings releases, sent stock markets in different directions. Inflation data for the euro zone showed a fall to 1.2 percent, a three year-low. The bloc's unemployment data reached a record high of

12.1 percent of the working population in March, official data showed on Tuesday. In Germany, the release of consumer sentiment data buoyed investor confidence with the DAX one of the only indexes posting gains. The GfK indicator was at its highest level for 5-and-a-half years, rising to 6.2 for May from 6.0 for April, beating forecasts. In Spain, first-quarter growth figures came in line with expectations. GDP contracted 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter and 2.0 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, Italy's new Prime Minister Enrico Letta overwhelmingly won a first vote of confidence in parliament late on Monday. He promised to press the European Union (EU) to focus on growth rather than austerity and halted an unpopular property tax. Meanwhile, expectations remain that the European Central Bank's (ECB) will announce further monetary easing when it meets on Thursday.

 In a poll by Reuters, 43 of 76 economists said they expected the central bank to cut rates by 25 basis points to 0.5 percent as increasing signs of weakness have spread within the euro zone. The U.S. Federal Reserve is also meeting this week, with a policy decision due on Wednesday. Also on Tuesday, the Cypriot parliament will decide on Tuesday whether to back the bailout imposed by its EU partners, with reports that any approval will come from a fragile majority against mounting calls for the struggling euro zone country to exit the euro. In Asian markets, Japanese shares fell on Tuesday, weighed down by mixed economic data, while the rest of Asia's equity markets rose to fresh peaks on hopes of central bank stimulus. In stocks news, banking stocks were among the best performers after better-than-expected earnings from Deutsche Bank, released late on Monday.