European stock markets are mostly moderately rising on Thursday after the release of corporate reports.
The Stoxx Europe 600 composite index of the region’s largest companies gained 0.2 percent to 464.12 points as of 12:05 p.m. ET.
France’s CAC 40 added 0.5% during the session. Spain’s IBEX 35, Germany’s DAX and Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.2%. The British FTSE 100 remains virtually unchanged.
Growth is being held back by economic uncertainty and renewed fears about the financial sector, says Trading Economics.
In addition, the composite index of business and consumer confidence in the euro area in April rose worse than expected, only 0.1 points compared with the revised result of March. Experts predicted the growth by 0,7 points.
Investors are also waiting today for preliminary data on US GDP in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, shares of European banks are rising on strong quarterly reports.
Deutsche Bank AG increased its net profit by 9% in the first quarter, which was better than analysts’ forecasts. Shares of Germany’s largest bank added 1.9%.
Capitalization of Spanish Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA is up 2%. BBVA reported a rise in net profit in January-March to 1.85 billion euros from 1.33 billion euros a year earlier. The figure beat analysts’ expectations.
The British Barclays raised pre-tax profit to 2.6 billion pounds ($3.24 billion) in the first quarter from 2.23 billion pounds a year earlier, beating the consensus forecast. The bank’s stock price is up 4.7 percent.
The market value of other members of the banking industry also increased, including Banco Santander – by 1.3%, BNP Paribas – 1.2%, Societe Generale – 0.9%, Credit Agricole – 0.8%, UniCredit – 2.4%, Intesa Sanpaolo – 1.3%.
Shares of British-Dutch Unilever rose 1.4%. One of the world’s leading suppliers of convenience goods increased revenue by 7% in the first quarter, a figure that beat the consensus forecast.
German energy company RWE AG said it expects adjusted EBITDA to almost double in the first quarter on better results from its international power generation business. The company, whose quarterly earnings will be released on May 11, is up 3%.
France’s TotalEnergies (SPB: TOT) boosted its net income by 12.4% in the first quarter and announced a dividend hike. Nevertheless, the oil and gas company’s stock quotes are losing 0.8%.
Shares of rival BP Plc (SPB: BP) and Shell (SPB: RDS.A) are down 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.
The market value of France’s Pernod Ricard SA is down 0.4%. Alcohol producer increased its revenue for the first 9 months of the fiscal year by 13%, but its quarterly revenue decreased by 2%.
