Stock indices of Western European countries are changing weakly and in different directions on Wednesday, investors are waiting for the results of the November meeting of the US Federal Reserve System (FRS) and evaluate the quarterly reports of European companies, as well as macroeconomic statistics.
The composite index of the largest companies in the Stoxx Europe 600 region rose by 0.15% by 11:37 a.m. to 415.22 points.
The British stock index FTSE 100 fell by 0.13%, the German DAX – by 0.04%, the Spanish IBEX 35 – by 0.36%. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 rose by 0.22%, the Italian FTSE MIB – by 0.12%.
The penultimate meeting of the Fed this year will end on Wednesday evening. According to the general opinion, its result will be the fourth consecutive increase in the key interest rate by 75 basis points.
Investors will be closely watching Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech, hoping to catch signals of a possible slowdown in the pace of rate hikes in the near future.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday it became known that the number of unemployed in Germany in October increased by 8 thousand instead of the growth expected by analysts by 12.5 thousand, and unemployment remained at around 5.5%, as expected.
The total volume of German exports, adjusted for calendar and seasonal factors, in September decreased by 0.5% compared to the previous month, imports fell by a record 2.3% since January.
Germany’s foreign trade surplus amounted to 3.7 billion euros the month before last, compared to 11.7 billion euros a year earlier and 1.2 billion euros in August.
Shares of A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S fall 5.4%. The Danish transport and logistics company’s third-quarter 2022 financial performance beat market expectations, but the company lowered its full-year demand guidance as the global economy deteriorated.
The price of GSK papers rises by 1% on the news that the British pharmaceutical company increased its revenue in the last quarter by 18% and improved its forecast for the year.
Capitalization of Next Plc rises by 1.8%. The British chain of clothing stores increased sales in the third quarter of the current financial year, slightly stronger than its own forecasts, by 0.4%. At the same time, over the last five weeks of the reporting period, the indicator jumped by 1.4% due to a surge in demand for warm clothes at the end of September.
Aston Martin Lagonda’s stock tumbled 14% after the British sports car maker reported a sharp increase in its pre-tax loss in the third quarter.
The market value of the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk jumped 4.7%. The company reported an increase in net profit in the last quarter to 14.41 billion Danish crowns ($1.91 billion) from 12.12 billion crowns a year earlier, as well as an increase in revenue by 28%, to 45.57 billion crowns. Both indicators exceeded market forecasts.
The leading gainer among Stoxx 600 components is cloud provider Sinch AB, which soared 30%. The company reported an 83% increase in July-September revenue to SEK 7.2 billion ($653 million) and a threefold increase in adjusted EBITDA to SEK 901 million.
