Last checked at Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters
stocks reporters. You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan
(thyagaraju.adinarayan@thomsonreuters.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@thomsonreuters.com) and
Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@thomsonreuters.com) in London and Stefano Rebaudo
(stefano.rebaudo@thomsonreuters.com) in Milan.
CHART: NO MORE FRESH LOWS? (1005 GMT)
The bounce back from mid-March lows has been staggering even as markets started this week on
a weak note.
BofA recently said "equities will probably struggle from here but we do not expect new
lows." The U.S. bank suggests buying quality credit in the near-term and owning equities and
gold for the long-term.
A line chart of the S&P 500 comparing the 2008 GFC and the coronacrisis shows divergence
from the path:
(Thyagaraju Adinarayan)
*****
OPENING SNAPSHOT: RISK ON (0740 GMT)
European bourses bounce back after yesterday's rout and the underlying sector moves indicate
risk-on mood among investors as cyclicals are outperforming defensives.
Travel & leisure stocks are at the forefront of the rally after easyJet (+8.3%) said it can
survive a lengthy fleet grounding.
A few other not-so-bad news in corporate updates and steadying oil prices are also lifting
the mood. The pan European STOXX 600 index is up 1.2% with travel and leisure, banks
and tech leading gainers.
In single stocks, the volatile Cineworld (+11.1%) shares top the index followed by easyJet.
Utilities and online food retailers such as Ocado were among the fallers.
(Joice Alves)
*****
ON OUR RADAR: WELCOME TO EARNINGS SEASON (0655 GMT)
Futures are pointing to a higher opening for European shares as investors are hoping the
coronavirus outbreak might be peaking soon. A slight bounceback in crude oil price is also
supporting the 1% to 1.3% rally.
In part the optimism could also be attributed to some not so bad corporate updates:
Germany's Zalando said it is optimistic for the second quarter, EasyJet says
it is able to survive a lengthy fleet grounding, Avast says Q1 was in line with expectations.
In the health care space, BioMérieux and Draegerwerk have seen exceptional order spike due
to corona demand.
Meanwhile, chocolate maker Barry Callebaut has tapped a 1 billion euro revolving
credit facility to beat the virus cash crunch.
Other significant earnings news: Schroders sees Q1 assets fall from record highs and Ashmore
AUM plunges due to selloff in markets.
More corporate headlines:
French power group EDF sees sharp drop in nuclear output
Ryanair sees price war fuelling rapid air travel recovery
Italy's Saipem pulls outlook on coronavirus uncertainty
Barry Callebaut draws on credit facility to cushion COVID-19 impact
UK banks have ample funds to help pandemic-hit economy
Shell deepens carbon reduction plans
(Joice Alves and Stefano Rebaudo)
*****
HOPE OVER DATA (0545 GMT)
Futures are pointing to a higher opening for European bourses as investors are hopeful
coronavirus outbreak might be peaking across the region.
Oil price is also helping. The U.S. crude rebounded from near-20-year lows in the previous
days on hopes that a big build-up in U.S. inventories may lead producers to deepen output cuts.
Meantime, stock markets in Asia and U.S. slumped, following a slew of coronavirus-driven
weak data and gloomy economic outlook.
Dire data is coming also from the UK where retail spending slumped by more than a quarter
during the first two weeks of lockdown measures. But that was highly expected.
(Joice Alves)
*****?
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Joice Alves, Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)
16 May 2024 13:02
Lufthansa offers short-haul compromise for ITA deal, sources say
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/ROME, May 16 (Reuters) - Lufthansa has offered to keep some competing ITA short-haul routes in an effort to secure EU antitrust approval for its bid for a stake in the Italian airline, people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.
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