European stock markets open slightly higher

(ABM FN-Dow Jones) European stock markets are heading to a slightly higher open on Friday.

IG expects an opening win of 30 points for the German DAX Index, plus two points for the French CAC 40 and a drop of 2 points for the British FTSE 100.

Stock markets in Europe closed mainly higher on Thursday. The Stoxx Europe 600 has reached a new all-time high. The Spanish and Italian stock markets had to take minor losses.

Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets, specifically referred to the record level of the FTSE 250 Index. According to him, UK stocks in particular are becoming more attractive as the UK prepares to reopen the economy.

While the European earnings season will actually gain momentum next week, investors could already start with quarterly US results, such as those for major banks. These turned out to be better than expected, but ABN AMRO’s market strategist Tom Kinmanth pointed to disappointing credit growth.

This could be a bad omen for European financial institutions targeting this type of traditional banking, according to a market expert. In addition, European banks are facing a negative interest rate environment.

According to economists at Capital Economics, delaying vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is also lower, as it would delay the introduction of a general vaccination in the European Union by at least a month.

Confirmation of the previously reported inflation data in March came from Germany and France on Thursday. These are showing an upward trend, in line with the European Central Bank’s expectations. Germany’s annual inflation rate was 1.7 percent, up from 1.3 percent in February.

In France, consumer prices rose 1.1 percent in March after inflation of 0.6 percent in February.

Company news

Deliveroo continued to grow in the first quarter of 2021. Deliveroo expects the rate of growth to slow once shutdowns are scaled back. According to the British meal delivery company, it is not yet possible to estimate the size of the drop. The stock lost 3.8 percent. Sector peers like Just Eat Takeaway and Delivery Hero won 0.8 and 1.7 percent, respectively.

The Swedish-Swiss company said on Thursday that industrial group ABB was better than expected in the first quarter, especially during the last weeks of March. The stock closed up 3.3 percent.

Publicis Groupe announced positive results for the first quarter, with organic sales increasing nearly 3 percent and forecasting 10 percent sales growth in the second quarter. The share rose 3.3 percent, topping the road in Paris.

Real estate company Deutsche Wohnen has done a good job in Frankfurt. The stock rose 2.5 percent after the German constitutional court ruled that the rental freeze in Berlin was illegal.

CMC’s Hewson said GlaxoSmithKline rose 4.6 percent in London on reports that activist Elliott Management has bought a stake in the pharmaceutical company.

Euro Stoxx 50 3993.43 (+ 0.4%)
STOXX Europe 600 438,55 (+ 0,5%)
DAX 15.255,33 (+ 0,3%)
CAC 40 6234.14 (+ 0.4%)
FTSE 100 6,983.50 (+ 0.6%)
SMI 11198.70 (+ 0.4%)
AEX 713,80 (+ 0,2%)
BEL 20 3941.48 (+ 0.2%)
FTSE MIB 24.528.69 (-0.2%)
IBEX 35 8,571,60 (-0,2%)

US stocks

Wall Street opened flat on Friday, in accordance with US futures.

US stock markets closed at new records on Thursday. The S&P 500 reached an all-time high and the Dow Jones Index closed above 34,000 for the first time.

After their Wednesday break, Dow and S&P went on a record search trip again on Thursday. According to CMC Markets’ market analyst Michael Hewson, confidence is back after strong macroeconomic data and quarterly numbers.

For example, it became known that last week the number of first claims for unemployment benefits in the United States decreased by 193,000 to 576,000. The market was based on 710,000 first aid requests.

US retail sales rose 9.8 percent month-on-month in March, forecasting a 6.1 percent increase.

US industrial production rose 1.4 percent in March, after falling in February. The Fed of New York and Philadelphia Fed indices also improved in April, and confidence among US homebuilders rose in the same month.

Retail sales in particular were met with great enthusiasm by investors, according to AvaTrade’s market analyst, Naeem Aslam. “It looks like this bull market will continue for the time being,” said the market analyst.

In terms of quarterly numbers, investors are hoping for strong results in the rest of 2021 through 2022, according to market strategist Esty Dwek of Natixis Investment Solutions. We want concrete guidance because it isn’t offered very often in 2020. ”

The price of oil continued to rise on Thursday. At a settlement of $ 63.46, the price of a WTI barrel is 0.5 percent.

ThinkMarkets analyst Fouad Razzaq Zadeh believes that if the price of WTI breaks through the $ 63.60 resistance level, it may rise further.

Oil prices managed to maintain the bullish trend well this week, in part after the publication of positive market reports from OPEC and the International Energy Agency.

Company news

BlackRock reported $ 7.77 per share for the quarter with $ 4.4 billion in revenue. The profit was slightly above expectations. The stock rose 2.1 percent.

Bank of America released better-than-expected results on Thursday, but the stock still lost 2.9 percent. The earnings per share of $ 0.86 were well above the $ 0.66 analysts had expected. Although provision for bad loans has decreased, interest income has also decreased.

Citigroup posted a net profit of $ 7.9 billion, or $ 3.62 per share, in the first quarter. Analysts relied on $ 2.60. Revenue fell 7 percent to $ 19.3 billion. The share fell 0.5 percent.

PepsiCo reported higher sales and profits in the quarter. The soft drink giant posted a adjusted earnings of $ 1.21 per share, while the market had been expecting $ 1.12 per share. The stock rose 0.1 percent.

United Health achieved higher profits and sales in the first quarter and increased expectations for the full year of 2021. The stock rose 3.8 percent.

Delta Airlines adjusted loss came in at $ 3.55 per share for the quarter, versus an analyst projected loss of $ 3.13 per share. Moreover, the airline’s revenue declined and net debt increased as a result of the Coronavirus crisis. The stock lost 2.8 percent.

Coinbase fell 1.7 percent to $ 322.75. The cryptocurrency exchange and news site debuted on Wall Street on Wednesday and closed more than 30 percent at $ 328.

S&P 500 4,170,42 (+ 1.1%)
Dow Jones 34.035.99 (+ 0.9%)
Nasdaq Composite 14.038.76 (+ 1.3%)

Asia

Asian stock markets rose mainly on Friday.

Nikkei 225 29.632.06 (-0.0%)
Shanghai Composite 3.414.74 (+ 0.5%)
Hang Seng 28,818.61 (+ 1.0%)

Lives

The EUR / USD is traded at 1.1964 this morning. When the US stock markets closed on Thursday, the currency pair was still trading at 1.1975.

USD / JPY108.78
EUR / USD EUR 1,1964
EUR / JPY 130.13 Yen

Macro agenda:
04:00 Economic Growth – First Quarter (Qi)
4:00 am Retail Sales – March (Qi)
4:00 a.m. Industrial Production – March (Qi)
11:00 Trade Balance – February (EUR)
11:00 Inflation – March lows. (euro)
14:30 HOUSING AND BUILDING PERMITS – MARCH (US)
16:00 Michigan consumer confidence – April vlpg. (United States of America)

Company news:
13:00 Morgan Stanley – First Quarter Figures (US)

ABM Financial News; [email protected]; Revised text: +31 (0) 20 26 28999.