STOXX 600 drops on dour earnings, poised for worst month in a year
For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window
BNP Paribas drops after Q3 results
EU CPI due at 1000 GMT
STOXX 600 down 0.7%
Updated at 0905 GMT
By Pranav Kashyap
Oct 31 (Reuters) -Europe's benchmark index fell onThursday, dragged down by dour corporate earnings, with the benchmarkset to record its worst monthly performance in a year.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX was down0.7%, falling to its lowest level in nearly two months.
The index is down 2.9% for themonth, poised to drop for a second straight month, and is set tolog its worst monthly performance since October 2023. Its previous steepest monthly drop in that period was a 1.5% decline in April.
This month's sentiment was heavily influenced by the nail-biting U.S. presidential election. The uncertainty surrounding who will takeup residence in the White House sent a wave of investors scurrying towards safe-haven assets like gold XAU= and the U.S. dollar USD=.
"Trump threatening so many tariffs - that concerns what is this going to mean for international trade. We're likely going to see a decrease in productivity in a lot of companies that deal with the U.S., so investors are concerned," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
All the STOXX 600 sub-sectors were trading in the red, with the retail sector .SXRP falling the most, with a 2.3% decline.
Rate-sensitive real estate stocks .SX86P also fell over 1%.
Technology stocks .SX8P dropped 1.1%.
Overnight, results from Meta META.O and Microsoft MSFT.O showed Big Tech is stepping up AI investments but the lack of quick and big returns has worried investors. .N
"The results were a little bit underwhelming for investors and you saw that weakness in the Nasdaq, adding to weaker sentiment in the STOXX 600," Hathorn said.
Among individual stocks, TotalEnergies TTEF.PA lost 2.4%after the French oil major's third-quarter adjusted net income hit a three-year low.
BNP Paribas BNPP.PA tumbled 6.2% after the lender reported third-quarter results that lagged its forecast-beating rivals.
Anheuser-Busch InBev ABI.BR lost 3.9% after the Budweiser maker missed estimates for third-quarter profit, revenue and sales volume.
Smith + Nephew SN.L slumped 12.4% after the medical products maker cut its annual underlying revenue growth forecast.
Shell SHEL.L gained 1% after the energy giant's quarterly profit of $6 billionbeat forecasts.
Airbus AIR.PA rose 2.4%after the planemaker picked a successor for its jet-makingarm, while the CEO stays on.
On the data-front, French preliminary inflation was at 1.5% in October, while German retail sales unexpectedly rose in September.
Investors now await Euro zone's flash CPI, Italy's preliminary CPI figures for October, and the bloc's employment data for September. All of them are set to drop at 1000 GMT.
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Sonia Cheema
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
