The majority of stock indices of the largest countries in Western Europe are down at the beginning of trading as investors are evaluating companies’ quarterly reports.
In addition, bidders are waiting for news from the U.S., where the midterm elections in Congress will be held on Tuesday and the latest data on inflation will be published on Thursday, according to Trading Economics.
The Stoxx Europe 600 composite index of the region’s largest companies was down 0.22% at 417.41 points by 10:25 a.m. A day earlier it hit a seven-week high.
Germany’s DAX indicator fell 0.1% from market opening, Britain’s FTSE 100, France’s CAC 40 and Italy’s FTSE MIB – 0.5%, Spain’s IBEX 35 – 0.4%.
Retail sales in Britain rose 1.2% in October compared with the same month last year, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The pace of growth slowed from a 1.8 percent rise in September as consumers continued to struggle with rising costs of living.
BRC head Helen Dickinson notes that Britons are struggling to make ends meet, especially as mortgage payments rise. Paul Martin, head of retail at KPMG, also noted that the increase in retail sales in October was due to higher prices and “does not reflect the true picture of falling volumes, although consumers are buying fewer items in-store.”
Persimmon’s stock price plunged 8 percent after the British construction company said it expects sales to fall in 2023. They are the fall leader among Stoxx 600 components.
German chemical and pharmaceutical concern Bayer AG boosted its net profit 6.4 times in the third quarter, confirming its financial outlook for the full year 2022. Nevertheless, the profit was worse than market forecasts, and stock quotes of the company decreased by 0.8%.
Volvo Car stock price is down 0.3%. The Swedish carmaker said it will sell China’s Geely Automobile its 33% stake in their joint venture that makes Aurobay powertrains.
Renault’s value fell 4.3 percent. The French carmaker announced its intention to increase operating profitability by spinning off its electric car business into a separate company.
At the same time, the stock price of Associated British Foods Plc is up 3.4%. The retailer announced the launch of a £500 million ($576 million) buyback program for its shares, as well as a dividend increase.
The value of Pandora jumped 6.3%. The chain of jewelry stores increased its net income in the third quarter to 734 million Danish kroner ($99 million) from 635 million kroner in the same period a year earlier while revenues rose 11% to 5.26 billion kroner. The company also reaffirmed its key financials forecast for the full year.
Pandora shares show the highest growth rate among the companies included in the Stoxx 600 calculation.
