EUROPEAN EQUITY UPDATE: Stocks supported in a busy morning of earnings

Analysis details (09:35)

European equities (Eurostoxx 50 +0.4%) trade firmer in what has been another busy morning of earnings releases for the region. The handover from APAC was a mostly constructive one with the exception of mainland Chinese stocks; incremental macro updates have been lacking across European and APAC hours. US equity futures are around flat with focus still on the fallout from yesterday’s strong retail sales report which has helped bolster the view that the Fed can engineer a soft landing even though price pressures appear sticky. Today's economic agenda may offer incremental updates on these themes, with the release of US PPI and regional Fed manufacturing indices, as well as the weekly initial jobless claims data. There are also quite a few Fed officials (and ECB officials) on the wires today. In recent trade, the Chinese Commerce Ministry has taken the decision to include Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Raytheon (RTX) on their unreliable entities list from today, banning the Cos from engaging in China-related trade activities. Sectors in Europe are mostly firmer with Media names top of the leaderboard following gains in index-heavyweight RELX (+3.2%) after encouraging FY results. Telecom names are also faring well following post-earnings gains for Orange (+4.6%), whilst Vodafone (+3.1%) is higher after Bloomberg reporting suggested the Co. is exploring options for its African business which could include a merger, selling assets or selling a stake. The Banking sector has been aided by Commerzbank (+9.0%) which sits at the top of the Stoxx 600 after Q4 results saw it beat on net income and raise its 2023 profit guidance. Standard Chartered (+1.8%) has also provided support for the sector following FY results and the announcement of a USD 1bln buyback. Elsewhere on the earnings slate, Renault (-1%) shares are lower despite noting a record order book, whilst Airbus (+3.2%) have benefited post-results with the Co. looking to deliver 720 commercial jets in 2023. Post-earnings losers today include Indivior (-11.1%), ADP (-3.6%), Klepierre (-3.5%) and Umicore (-1.7%).

16 Feb 2023 - 09:35- Research Sheet- Source: Newsquawk