European stocks were seeing modest gains on Thursday despite heightened geopolitical tensions and lingering uncertainty over the Fed’s rate trajectory.
On a light day on the economic front, new data showed China is struggling to shake off persistent deflation pressures.
The pan European STOXX 600 was up 0.2 percent at 486.54 after declining 0.2 percent in the previous session.
The German DAX edged up 0.2 percent, France’s CAC 40 added 0.4 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3 percent.
The euro rose against a basket of major rivals, extending gains for a third straight session against the dollar after several ECB officials warned central banks need to move carefully on cutting interest rates this year.
ECB member Isabel Schnabel said in an interview with the Financial Times that recent data and market bets on quick rate cuts mean the central bank needs to be patient before easing policies.
In corporate news, Danish carrier Maersk plunged 13 percent after it reported a net loss of $442 million for the fourth quarter of 2023.
Dutch payments company Adyen NV soared 16 percent after reporting a significant increase in net profit for the second half of fiscal 2023.
ArcelorMittal gained 3 percent despite the global steel giant posting a net loss of USD 2,966 million during the December quarter.
British drug maker AstraZeneca fell 2.3 percent after reporting lower-than-expected profit.
Consumer goods manufacturer Unilever rallied 3 percent after launching a 1.5-billion-euro ($1.6 billion) share buyback.
Catering group Compass Group surged 4 percent after it reported an 11.7 percent jump in Q1 organic revenue and backed its FY24 outlook.
Energy group SSE lost 2 percent despite reaffirming its FY24 adjusted EPS guidance.
British American Tobacco jumped 7 percent after an announcement that it plans to sell some of its stake in India’s cigarette-to-hotels conglomerate ITC.
Anglo American rallied 2.3 percent. The miner reported a 24 percent rise in copper production last year to 826000 metric tons.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, a commercial real estate company, jumped nearly 6 percent in Paris.
After reporting a loss before tax of 1.771 billion euros for the full year, the company projected earnings growth for 2024.
Ipsen tumbled 4 percent. The biopharmaceutical company reported that its fiscal 2023 IFRS consolidated net profit was 647.2 million euros, nearly flat compared with last year’s 647.5 million euros.
Lender Credit Agricole plunged 6percent despite outperforming expectations with robust Q4 profits.
Siemens was moving lower after two of its largest investors called for the German engineering group to simplify its operations. Meanwhile, the company’s Q1 net profit beat expectations.
Market Analysis
European Shares Inch Higher Amid Earnings Deluge
2024-02-08 09:42:23
