European Stocks Retreat as Earnings Disappoint: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Europe’s stock benchmark retreated from near a record high amid disappointing earnings from some of the region’s biggest companies.

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The Stoxx Europe 600 gauge slipped 0.3%, still about four points from its January 2022 peak. Banks were among the leading decliners as HSBC Holdings Plc tumbled more than 6% after reporting an 80% plunge in fourth-quarter profit.

Weak earnings from commodities trader Glencore Plc and Rio Tinto Plc, the world’s biggest iron ore miner, weighed on the basic resources sub-index, which slumped to a four-month low. On the positive side, Carrefour SA gained after the French grocer announced a share buy-back, even as quarterly sales disappointed.

Positive economic surprises have buoyed European stocks even as traders trimmed bets on interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank. Volatility measures are at historical lows, suggesting some complacency has crept into a market still facing potential headwinds, including rising bond yields, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

“European stocks could consolidate recent gains in the near term as investor sentiment looks overheated,” BI strategists Laurent Douillet and Tim Craighead wrote in a report. “Rising government bond yields haven’t curbed enthusiasm so far, as highly leveraged companies slightly outperform, and remain a key 2024 risk for equities.”

US equity futures dipped ahead of the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting, as well as much-anticipated earnings from Nvidia Corp. later Wednesday. The company at the heart of the AI revolution boasts the best performance in the S&P 500 this year after more than tripling in 2023, and is responsible for a third of the benchmark’s year-to-date gain.

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“It feels like these earnings today are a barometer of where we are in the global cycle,” said Justin Onuekwusi, chief investment officer at St James’s Place. “Concentration in the stock market has got to levels where one company’s earnings can have a big macro effect. It’s gone beyond being just a portfolio construction issue; it’s a macro challenge which you can’t get away from.”

The 10-year Treasury yield and a gauge of the dollar were steady.

Elsewhere, Chinese shares rose after policymakers took more steps to revive investor confidence, defying broader weakness in Asia following a tech-led retreat on Wall Street.

A gauge of Hong Kong-listed Chinese firms jumped as much as 4% before paring gains, while the CSI 300 Index of mainland shares rose 1.4%. Property developers led the gains after banks ramped up funding help for the troubled sector. A fresh crackdown on trading by quant funds also reduced concerns about short selling. That’s in contrast with losses in other Asian markets.

In the commodity space, aluminum surged on speculation that a fresh wave of US sanctions against Russia may target the metal, potentially disrupting supplies. Iron ore clawed back some of its losses after Chinese steel mills recorded an increase in output. Both oil and gold edged higher.

Key Events This Week:

• Eurozone consumer confidence, Wednesday

• Nvidia earnings, Wednesday

• Federal Reserve releases minutes from its January meeting, Wednesday

• Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks, Wednesday

• Eurozone S&P Global Services PMI, S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, CPI, Thursday

• US initial jobless claims, US existing home sales, Thursday

• ECB issues account of January meeting, Thursday

• Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari speak, Thursday

• China property prices, Friday

• Germany IFO business climate, GDP, Friday

• ECB publishes 1- and 3-Year inflation expectations survey, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3% as of 9:19 a.m. London time

• S&P 500 futures fell 0.3%

• Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4%

• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%

• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed

• The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.1%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

• The euro fell 0.1% to $1.0794

• The Japanese yen was little changed at 150.08 per dollar

• The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1971 per dollar

• The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.2609

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 1.1% to $51,447.12

• Ether fell 2.2% to $2,923.64

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.27%

• Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.39%

• Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.06%

Commodities

• Brent crude fell 0.5% to $81.90 a barrel

• Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,027.06 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Rob Verdonck and Sujata Rao.

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