European Shares Mixed Amid Earnings Deluge

European stocks were mixed on Wednesday as a slew of upbeat earnings offset concerns over the spread of coronavirus variants.

Global coronavirus cases surpassed 100 million, with Europe currently reporting a million new infections about every four days.

Investors await a Federal Reserve policy decision for indications the U.S. central bank will not taper down its bond-buying scheme anytime soon.

The pan European Stoxx 600 was marginally lower at 407.58 after rising 0.6 percent on Tuesday. The German DAX slid 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 eased 0.2 percent, while France’s CAC 40 index was marginally higher.

Dutch telecommunications company KPN surged 4.3 percent after its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled.

Hygiene and health company Essity AB rallied 3 percent after reporting a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly operating profit.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo slumped nearly 6 percent after forecasting a fall in gold production.

Oil exploration company Tullow Oil lost 2 percent after it warned of lower output in 2021.

LondonMetric Property advanced 1.4 percent after it acquired two urban logistics warehouses.

French luxury group LVMH rose about 1 percent. The company said it saw a significant improvement in trends in all its activities compared during the fourth quarter. Gucci-owner Kering advanced 1.2 percent.

Jenoptik shares surged 3 percent. The optical products company said the Group’s adjusted EBITDA margin will be significantly above the expected range of between 15.0 and 15.5 percent for fiscal year 2020.

Siemens Healthineers added 2.9 percent. The healthcare company raised its outlook for 2021 sales and earnings per share.

Symrise, a major producer of flavors and fragrances, rose 2 percent after confirming its profit target for full-year 2020.

Software firm Software AG jumped 6.3 percent despite reporting lower Q4 profit and revenue.

In economic releases, a survey showed German consumer confidence is set to deteriorate in February under the strict lockdown restrictions.

Market research group GfK said its forward-looking consumer sentiment index dropped 8.1 points to -15.6 in February from -7.5 in January. The expected reading was -7.9.

French consumer confidence index dropped more-than-expected to 92 in January from 95 in December, survey results from the statistical office Insee revealed. The expected level was 94.

U.K. shop prices decreased 2.2 percent year-on-year in January, after a 1.8 percent drop in the previous month hit by the renewed Covid-19 lockdown measures, data from the British Retail Consortium showed.

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