European markets lower as investors weigh regional bank and U.S. tech earnings

Sophie Kiderlin@in/sophie-kiderlin-b327b914a/@SKiderlin

LONDON — European markets were lower on Wednesday as earnings season ramped up.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.36% at 1:22 p.m. London time, with major bourses in the region and most sectors pulling back. Household goods stocks fell 1.6%, while travel and leisure stocks added 0.4% after low-cost airline Easyjet reported higher profit and forecast a second straight record-breaking summer.

Deutsche Bank, UniCredit, BNP Paribas and Banco Santander were among the European banks reporting earnings on Wednesday, alongside Iberdrola and Orange.

Deutsche Bank shares fell close to 8% at one point on Wednesday before paring losses as it snapped a 15-quarter profit streak, while shares in luxury group LVMH slumped as much as 5% after the company reported a second-quarter revenue miss late on Tuesday.

On the data front, flash purchasing managers’ index data showed business activity stalled in the euro zone in July, while it picked up in the U.K. thanks to strong manufacturing growth. Meantime, German consumer confidence was seen increasing, according to fresh data.

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In the U.S., Nasdaq stock futures last traded lower after mega-cap tech companies Alphabet and Tesla reported their second-quarter results on Tuesday.

Google parent company Alphabet’s revenue and earnings results were in line with analyst estimates, but the the company missed on YouTube advertising revenue.

Meanwhile, Tesla reported weaker-than-expected results as auto revenue dropped 7% year over year.

Asia-Pacific markets fell Wednesday as traders considered earnings and the latest business activity from across the region.

Source : cnbc