LIVE MARKETS-On the radar: UK high street blues, Q3 ups and downs
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
ON THE RADAR: UK HIGH STREET BLUES, Q3 UPS AND DOWNS (0750 GMT)
Futures are currently trading just slightly in the red but beware: today's big batch of Q3 is bound to trigger sharp moves at the open.
One of the most spectacular hit could come from the UK high street. Mall operator Intu Properties is seen falling between 10% and 30% after it said raising equity was an option as it expects lower rental income with more stores closing down.
That comes with Mothercare set to close all its British stores, and M&S posting profit down 17% on weak clothing sales.
Shares in struggling Norwegian Air will also be closely watched after it managed to raise $272 million.
Looking at today's Q3 action just a reminder that the latest data from Refinitiv shows that earnings expectations for the STOXX 600 have improved for the first time since late August, a sign that will rejoice investors betting on Europe bottoming up.
Anyhow: In the banking sector, SocGen was a miss with restructuring costs denting Q3 results and is indicated down 2%.
Germany GmbH is providing a lot of the Q3 headlines with Adidas and its sales picking up, BMW’s operating profit jumping 33% and Wirecard reporting a 43% gain in third-quarter core profits. Note however that shares in the German payment company are down in pre-open trading in Frankfurt.
Here are a few big headlines:
UK mall operator Intu forecasts lower annual rental income
Shares in Germany's Wirecard fall in pre-open trading in Frankfurt
Adidas sales pick up pace as Europe back to growth
SocGen's restructuring dents Q3 results but lifts capital buffer
Britain's AstraZeneca to distribute Sun Pharma cancer drugs in China
Ahold reports higher Q3 earnings on strong U.S. business
Struggling Norwegian Air raises $272 million from share sale, bond issue
Andritz Q3 core profit down due to Schuler restructuring
BMW Q3 operating profit up 33% as higher margin SUV sales take off
IT'S RISK-OFF AHEAD OF ANOTHER BIG Q3 DAY (0632 GMT)
European bourses are expected to open slightly in the red this morning after Wall Street and Asia pulled back in the absence of more news from the trade war front.
According to IG, financial spreadbetters expect London's FTSE to open 17 points lower, Frankfurt's DAX down 22 points and Paris' CAC to lose 7 points.
Sentiment could of course change quickly at the open given the amount of Q3 releases due before the bells rings across the continent's trading floors.
Adidas, Alstom, Axel Springer, BMW, Delhaize and Wirecard are among the corporates about to take the stage.
There's also a big batch of euro zone services PMI which will be closely watched given the hopes that the macro gloom is clearing up.
(Julien Ponthus)
***** (Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Joice Alves, Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)