LIVE MARKETS-Corporate updates: a few swings expected at the open
Feb 1 - Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you
by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Julien Ponthus. Reach him on Messenger to
share your thoughts on market moves: julien.ponthus.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
CORPORATE UPDATES: A FEW SWINGS EXPECTED AT THE OPEN (0757 GMT)
With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) the Italy recession shocker yesterday, the batch of European PMI and inflation data
this morning will be closely watched.
The strong Facebook (NasdaqGS: FB - news) results are nevertheless a morale booster for investors worried about
on-going Q4 earnings downgrades.
Speaking of which, a lot of corporate results this morning with notably Deutsche Bank (IOB: 0H7D.IL - news) which
announced it swung back to profits after speculation yesterday about a
government-brokered merger with rival Commerzbank (Xetra: CBK100 - news) .
Still in the banking sector, contrasting headlines with BBVA (LSE: 931474.L - news) 2018 net profit up 51 percent,
Caixabank (Amsterdam: CB6.AS - news) up 17.8 percent and Banco Sabadell 2018 net down 54 percent. Also Danske, embroiled in
a major money laundering scandal, offers a lower pay-out than expected.
Some disappointment with drugmaker Novo Nordisk (LSE: 0QIU.L - news) 's fourth-quarter profit lagging forecast.
In terms of sharp moves expected at the open, Talktalk is seen down 5 pct after its trading
update and Electrolux jumping 4-7 pct with profit beating forecasts.
(Julien Ponthus)
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NOT SO MIXED AFTER ALL: FUTURES OPEN IN THE BLACK (0714 GMT)
Ok, so the picture is a bit less blurred than expected with all main European futures in the
black, albeit very slightly for the CAC, at the open.
It seems the buzz kill of China's Caixin/Markit (NasdaqGS: MRKT - news) index of manufacturing falling to its lowest
since February 2016 isn't that lethal after all.
After all, prospects of a meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to end the trade war
is enough to fuel substantial optimism on the trade floors.
The caution one would expect ahead of the U.S. jobs data later in the session is
nevertheless palpable with analysts unsure what impact the government shutdown might have had
employment.
(Julien Ponthus)
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I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST FEBRUARY (0700 GMT)
As Chris Bailey from Raymond James argues this morning, "in the context of the very poor
December, January was the best month for global equities in seven years".
What a difference a month makes with the gloomy last quarter of 2018 and its spooky "Red
October"!
So after such a stellar January what could go wrong?
Well remember February 2018? Not many saw the sell-off coming but it still marks, for a
number of analysts at the least, the beginning of the end for the bull market.
The U.S 10-year yield was then giving cold sweats to investors and the comeback of inflation
had analysts scrambling to reassess equity risk premia in a volatility spike that was arguably a
pretty messy business.
Wth the Fed now in a dovish mood and so many strategists placing their faith in the "Powell
Put", February 2019 sure doesn't look like 2018 but can be a reminder that things can't very
quickly go wrong.
(Julien Ponthus)
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A MIXED START EXPECTED AT THE OPEN (0635 GMT)
Good morning and welcome to Live Markets! Not much of a trend for the open at the moment
with rather a mixed bad of indications from financial spreadbetters.
According to IG (Frankfurt: A0EARV - news) , London's FTSE is seen opening 9 points higher, the DAX 6 points lower and
Paris' CAC up 4 points.
Not much eastern wind in the European sails with Asian shares creeping back from four-month
highs as a dismal survey on Chinese factory activity dulled optimism about the Sino (Dusseldorf: 1205802.DU - news) /U.S. trade
talks or the strong Facebook earnings.
With much of Britain under the snow, a picture of white hills in the British countryside
coud have seemed in order but for some reason, this one taken yesterday seems more pertinent for
European equity markets:
(Julien Ponthus)
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