European stocks were little changed

European stocks were little changed, following yesterday’s slide for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, as worse-than-expected earnings at Michelin & Cie. offset cost cuts at Barclays Plc. U.S. stock-index futures and Asian shares were also little changed.

In the U.S., President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address from 9 p.m. in Washington. He will make proposals for spending on infrastructure, clean energy and education, according to an administration official briefed on the speech. Obama will argue that fostering economic growth remains the best strategy to narrow a federal budget deficit that has exceeded $1 trillion in each of the last four years.

Michelin dropped 3.7 percent to 70 euros after Europe’s largest tiremaker reported operating profit of 2.42 billion euros ($3.24 billion). The average analyst estimate had called for earnings of 2.52 billion euros. Michelin posted profit of 1.95 billion euros a year earlier. Pirelli & Cie., the region’s third-biggest tiremaker, slid 2.2 percent to 8.73 euros.

Finmeccanica tumbled 8.3 percent to 4.37 euros after police arrested Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, the head of the Italian defense contractor’s U.S. helicopter unit. The authorities searched Orsi’s home and the Milan offices of Italy’s biggest defense company, two people familiar with the investigation said. The police are investigating the sale of 12 helicopters to India.

Barclays climbed 4 percent to 313.6 pence after saying it will cut 1,800 jobs at its investment bank and 1,900 positions at its European consumer- and business-banking unit. The second- largest U.K. lender by assets said it will reduce annual costs by 1.7 billion pounds. Barclays posted a loss of 1.04 billion pounds in 2012, its first full-year loss in 20 years.

FTSE 100 6,296.34 +19.28 +0.31%

CAC 40 3,663.83 +13.25 +0.36%

DAX 7,645.99 +12.25 +0.16%