EUROPEAN EQUITIES UPDATE: Subdued and tentative trade ahead of US CPI

STOXX 600: +0.2%

• European bourses initially opened very modestly lower across the board, in a continuation of the subdued price action seen in Asia overnight.
• However, sentiment soon improved just after the cash open to display a more positive picture in Europe.
• EZ-specific updates have been light today, and will likely continue to remain so; focus will be on US CPI.

Sectors: Mixed; Top: Energy, Basic Resources, Retail Bottom: Tech, Financial Services

• European sectors are mixed, having initially opened with a slight negative bias.
• Energy takes the top spot, lifted by significant gains Siemens Energy after it raised its mid-term targets; gains in oil prices in recent trade may also be propping up the sector. Basic Resources follows closely behind, attempting to pare back some of the prior day’s losses.
• Tech is found at the foot of the pile, after outperforming in the prior session; Infineon (-1.9%) gives back some of its post-earning strength.

DAX 40: +0.4%

• A firmer session for the index thus far and generally following peers; the index is currently trading around 19,070 having opened below its 50 DMA at 19,105.
• Top: Siemens Energy (+18.9%), tops the index with shares soaring after the Co. raised its mid-term targets and reported record order intake. RWE (+8.2%) benefits after it reported strong 9-month results and announced a EUR 1.5bln share buyback. Allianz (+1.7%) also benefits post-earnings after topping analyst expectations and guided its FY op. profit towards the upper end of its existing range.
• Bottom: Porsche SE (-2.1%) is towards the bottom of the pile after its 9-month results, with the Co. also affirming FY guidance.

Others: FTSE 100 +0.3%, AEX -0.2%

• The FTSE 100 was initially the marginal outperformer in Europe, but a broader pick-up in sentiment across peers has led to the FTSE 100 to perform in-line with peers.
• Smiths (+14.5%) soars after its results, where it reported a strong Revenue figure, upgraded guidance and increased its share buyback. Flutter (+4.3%) reported a mixed set of results; beating on top-line, whilst bottom-line missed.
• The AEX is the marginal European underperformer today, largely hampered by losses in ABN AMRO (-2.5%); the Co. reported strong Q3 results, beating on NII and fees; negative sentiment may be attributed to the Co. reiterating the hefty FY costs of EUR 5.3bln.

US Equity Futures: ES -0.1%, NQ -0.1%, RTY -0.2%

• Futures are very modestly lower across the board, with slight underperformance in the RTY, which continues to pull back from the gains seen last week; though in recent trade, sentiment across the equities complex has improved.
• In terms of pre-market movers, Spotify (+6.5%) gains despite reporting poor headline metrics, but its guidance beat analyst expectations. Elsewhere, Spirit Airlines (-63%) sinks as the Co. prepares for bankruptcy.