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.
Stock indices of Western European countries do not show a single dynamics during trading on Monday.
Investors are evaluating the latest batch of statistics.
The composite index of the largest companies in the region Stoxx Europe 600 by 13:00 Moscow time fell by 0.03% and amounted to 410.64 points.
The British stock index FTSE 100 rose by 0.18%, the German DAX – by 0.06%, the Italian FTSE MIB – by 0.17%. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 fell by 0.22%, the Spanish IBEX 35 – by 0.11%.
Retail sales in Germany in September rose by 0.9% compared to the previous month, according to the country’s Federal Statistical Agency (Destatis).
Analysts polled by Trading Economics had expected a 0.3% decline in retail sales last month.
Meanwhile, consumer prices in the eurozone rose 10.7% year-on-year in October, according to preliminary data from the European Union Statistics Office. Thus, inflation accelerated compared to 9.9% in September and again updated the maximum since the beginning of the calculations.
Analysts polled by Trading Economics had expected a less significant increase of 10.2%.
The economies of the 19 eurozone countries grew by 0.2% in the third quarter compared to the previous three months, according to preliminary data from the European Union Statistics Office. In annual terms, the eurozone GDP increased by 2.1%.
The dynamics of both indicators coincided with analysts’ expectations, according to Trading Economics.
Italy’s GDP rose 0.5% qoq in the third quarter, official statistics show. Growth slowed down compared to the previous quarter, when the rise was 1.1%. Meanwhile, the figure exceeded the expectations of analysts who did not expect changes in GDP, according to Trading Economics.
The Swiss National Bank (SNB, the country’s central bank) reported a large loss in the first nine months of this year amid rising franc and rising interest rates, which led to the depreciation of the bank’s investments in gold, foreign currencies and financial markets. Meanwhile, the bank’s shares are up 2.9%.
Shares of Credit Suisse Group AG strengthened by 4.2%. The Swiss bank has unveiled details of a $4 billion share offering plan.
Italian UniCredit SpA stock quotes are up 2.2%. The bank improved its net interest income forecast for 2022.
The biggest drop among Stoxx 600 components is German power generation company Verbund AG, which shed 4.5%.
Meanwhile, the growth leaders are the shares of the French manufacturer of pharmaceuticals Orpea S.A., which add 18.7%.
Stock indices of the largest countries of Western Europe at the beginning of trading on Friday demonstrate negative dynamics, including due to weak quarterly reports of companies.
In addition, investors are worried about the possibility of a deterioration in the state of the world economy against the background of aggressive actions of a number of the largest central banks to curb inflation, reports Trading Economics. The unstable political situation in Great Britain is also negative for the markets.
The composite index of the largest companies in the Stoxx Europe 600 region decreased by 1.5% and amounted to 392.81 points by 11:31 CST.
Since the opening of the market, the German DAX indicator has decreased by 1.6%, the British FTSE 100 – by 0.7%, the French CAC 40 – by 1.7%. The Italian FTSE MIB fell by 1.6%, the Spanish IBEX 35 – by 1.9%.
One of the world’s leading manufacturers of sports goods, adidas AG, for the third time since the beginning of the year, has worsened forecasts of financial indicators for 2022 due to growing stocks of unsold goods and coronavirus restrictions in China. Also, the German company presented preliminary reporting for the third quarter, according to which profit from continuing operations fell 2.7 times, mainly due to a one-time write-off due to the curtailment of operations in the Russian Federation.
Adidas shares fell in price by 8.5% and are the leader of the decline among the components of the Stoxx 600. Quotations of shares of competitors Puma and JD Sports Fashion also decrease – respectively by 5.6% and 5.3%.
The Swedish telecommunications operator Telia in July-September increased its net profit by 8% – up to 1.71 billion crowns ($151.8 million). However, the result did not justify the analysts’ expectation of 2.1 billion euros. The company’s stock price fell by 8.2%.
Quotations of Vivendi shares fall by 4.2%. French media conglomerate Vivendi SA in the third quarter increased revenue by 4.1% to 2.578 billion euros. At the same time, the revenues of the television division of Canal+ Group decreased by 3.3% – to 1.419 billion euros. It turned out to be worse than the consensus forecast.
The value of French L’Oreal, one of the world’s largest cosmetics manufacturers, and Kering SA, which owns well-known fashion brands, decreased by 4.3% and 4.4%, respectively, despite good reporting for the last quarter.
Renault shares fell by 2.2%, although the French automaker also increased revenue in July-September stronger than forecast.
At the same time, the shares of the British food delivery service Deliveroo Plc added 3.2% in price. Gross transaction volume (GTV) in the third quarter increased by 8% and reached 1.7 billion pounds ($1.91 billion).
Retail sales in Great Britain in September fell by 1.4% compared to the previous month, the country’s National Statistics Office reported on Friday. Experts on average expected a decrease of only 0.5%, reports Trading Economics.
Meanwhile, the British consumer confidence index in October increased by 2 points and amounted to minus 47 points, reports GfK NOP Ltd. This is the first increase in the indicator in almost an hour. Prior to that, he had been updating record lows for several months in a row since the beginning of counting, that is, since 1974. At the same time, analysts expected further deterioration of the indicator – on average to minus 52 points.
Stock indices of Western European countries do not show a single dynamics during trading on Monday.
The composite index of the largest companies in the region Stoxx Europe 600 by 11:27 Moscow time fell by 0.11% and amounted to 389.98 points.
The British stock index FTSE 100 rose by 0.06%, while the German DAX by 0.26%, the French CAC 40 – by 0.33%. The Italian FTSE MIB was up 1.26%, while the Spanish IBEX 35 was down 0.35%.
Concerns about the state of the global economy are intensifying against the backdrop of persistently high inflation and aggressive measures by the largest central banks to contain it, writes CNBC.
The focus is on the elections in Italy.
The Democratic Party of Italy admitted defeat in early parliamentary elections held on Sunday, media reported.
After the announcement of the official results of processing 10% of the ballots in the elections, a coalition of four right-wing parties is in the lead with 44% of the vote. The best results for the party “Brothers of Italy”. This means that its leader, George Meloni, in the event that the center-right comes to power, may become the new Italian prime minister.
Democratic Vice Chair Deborah Serracchiani conceded defeat and said the Democrats were moving into opposition.
The pressure on the market is also exerted by the ongoing geopolitical tensions in connection with the ongoing referendums in a number of regions of Ukraine on joining Russia.
Meanwhile, the level of business confidence in the German economy in September fell to 84.3 points from 88.6 points in August, according to a report by the IFO research organization. The indicator is at a minimum since May 2020 and turned out to be worse than analysts’ forecast at the level of 87 points, writes Trading Economics.
Shares of the British financial company Virgin Money UK PLC are among the leaders of the fall among the components of the Stoxx Europe 600 index, losing 6.7%.
Meanwhile, the papers of the German Uniper SE, which add 23.2%, turned out to be the growth leaders.
Shares of the Swiss HVAC maker rose 8.4% as Berenberg experts improved the company’s stock recommendation and raised its price target.
The UK stock exchanges are closed due to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Investors this week will actively follow the meetings of the world’s largest central banks. The US Federal Reserve System (FRS) will announce the rate change decision on Wednesday, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England – on Thursday. Most experts believe that the US and British regulators will again raise key rates to combat inflation that has been beating many years of records.
In addition, it is expected that meetings of the central banks of Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey and China will take place. The People’s Bank of China will announce the rate on loans to first class borrowers (LPR) for one year and five years on Tuesday.
The composite index of the largest enterprises in Europe Stoxx Europe 600 by 11:55 a.m. CST fell by 0.5%, to 406.34 points.
The French CAC 40 fell 0.9%, the German DAX – 0.4%. The Italian FTSE MIB fell 0.7%, while the Spanish IBEX 35 fell 0.2%.
Stock quotes of the automotive concern Volkswagen AG are growing by 1.2%. The company announced it could raise up to 9.39 billion euros in a listing of preferential shares in luxury sports car maker Porsche. In addition, VW signed an agreement with Porsche Automobil Holding SE to transfer 25% of the common (voting) shares. The capitalization of Porsche Automobil in the course of trading is growing by 3.1%.
Leading losses among Stoxx 600 components include Norwegian solar energy producer Scatec ASA (-7.6%), Sweden’s Orron Energy AB (-6.6%), operating in the field of renewable energy, and Norwegian gas station owner Aker BP ASA (-5.9%).
Among the leaders of the rise are the shares of the Polish video game developer CD Projekt S.A. (+4%) and the German manufacturer of military equipment Rheinmetall AG (+3.2%).
Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko does not exclude that due to low rates of vaccination in Ukraine, European countries may limit entry for Ukrainian tourists as much as possible.
“Thousands, tens of thousands of disrupted trips, as countries are quickly changing the rules for entry. And there is logic in this. Their governments care about the safety of their citizens, maintain an appropriate level of vaccination. Yesterday I came across statistics of vaccinations in the world. European indicators are about 70%. In the UAE, practically the entire population is vaccinated – 98%. In Ukraine, this figure is 18%, which is very small,” he wrote on the Telegram channel on Thursday.
The minister lamented that the pace of vaccination in Ukraine may lead to the fact that citizens will not be able to actively travel abroad.
“Remember, in February 2020, our tourists were returning home from the Chinese Wuhan, already covered by the epidemic. They were taken for observation in Novi Sanzhary. Frightened people even threw stones at buses then … Of course, Europeans will not throw stones at Ukrainian tourists. Just do not exclude that with such a rate of vaccination, we may be restricted as much as possible from entering. And the restrictions will continue until we reach at least close to the European level of vaccination,” Tkachenko said.
In this regard, the minister once again urged everyone to be vaccinated.
