European Shares Advance, Trimming Weekly Losses; IAG Drops
European stocks rose as investors looked ahead to more earnings and clues about the direction of interest rates in the US. British Airways parent IAG SA slid as the airline missed earnings estimates.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was 0.2% higher by 8:17 a.m. in London, set to trim their second week of declines. The retail and chemicals sectors outperformed, while personal care and mining shares were among the biggest laggards.
Among individual movers, Novo Nordisk A/S retreated 2.1% after increasing its offer for Metsera Inc. as its takeover battle with Pfizer Inc. for the obesity startup escalates.
“The market feels fragile but optimistic, with ‘cautiously bullish’ probably the best way to frame where we are this morning,” said Michael Brown, a senior research strategist at Pepperstone Group Ltd.
European shares are set to fall for the second week in a row with investors worried over valuations of artificial intelligence stocks and the outlook for interest-rate cuts in the US. The benchmark eased from October’s record and trimmed its yearly gains to 12%.
Third-quarter earnings in the region have proved to be resilient so far. Deutsche Bank AG strategists noted European companies have significantly outperformed expectations, with earnings beating consensus by 8%.
“In the continued absence of US economic data, focus remains largely on incoming earnings reports, as well as remarks from Fed speakers amid uncertainty over a December cut, plus of course any concrete progress on getting the government reopened,” Pepperstone’s Brown said.
Source : Bloomberg.com
