European stocks struggled for direction on Tuesday as investors digested a barrage of earnings and looked for direction from a two-day policy meeting of the Federal Reserve starting later in the day.
Earlier today, the Bank of Japan maintained its massive stimulus and raised its growth forecasts for the world’s third-largest economy, citing expected stronger demand.
Elsewhere, Sweden’s central bank retained its key interest rate and the asset purchase program to support economic recovery and subdued inflation.
The pan European Stoxx 600 was marginally lower at 439.96 after rising 0.3 percent on Monday.
The German DAX and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 slipped around 0.2 percent, while France’s CAC 40 index was marginally higher.
Sweden’s Evolution Gaming Group soared 11 percent after its quarterly core earnings jumped 150 percent.
Norwegian energy and aluminum company Norsk Hydro tumbled 4 percent despite posting better-than-expected earnings.
ABB rose 1.6 percent as the Swiss engineering company unveiled plans to float its electric vehicle charging business.
Lender UBS fell 2.7 percent after it reported a surprise $774 million hit from the collapse of U.S. investment fund Archegos.
Lagardère shares rose 0.9 percent. The French media and publishing firm reported a 29.8 percent drop in first-quarter revenue on a like-for-like basis.
Energy-management group Schneider Electric gained 0.7 percent after lifting its full-year profit target.
Oil major BP Plc rose 0.8 percent in London after posting better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of the year.
HSBC Holdings advanced 1.5 percent. The global banking giant reported a significantly better-than-expected 79 percent rise in first quarter profit on the back of an improving economic outlook.
Serco, a company that provides outsourcing services to governments, added 1.4 percent after securing a £350mln government jobs contract.
Whitbread, owner of Premier Inn hotels, gave up 2.4 percent after it swung to pretax loss for fiscal 2021.
Business News
European Shares Subdued Ahead Of Fed Outcome
2021-04-27 09:45:17
