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FINANCIAL FIRMS LIFT STOXX AS BEVERAGE MAKERS PROVIDE DRAG (0934 GMT)
The STOXX 600 is up 0.6%, lifted by a stream of better-than-expected earnings.
Banco de Sabadell is the biggest gainer in the index, up 7.9% after beating expectations with its fourth-quarter net profit. STMicroelectronics is not far behind, up 7.1% after the chipmaker posted a fourth-quarter sales rise.
Financial services are performing the best on a sector basis, rising 1.3% and lifted by UK investment firms 3i and Intermediate Capital Group, both up around 4.7% after posting performance updates. Food and beverages <.SX3P. are the worst performing sector today, down 0.5%, with premium spirits maker Diageo the biggest drag on the STOXX 600. Shares in the maker of Johnnie Walker whisky and Tanqueray gin are down 5% as traders digest a miss on its U.S. net sales.
Shares in Swedish bank SEB fell, down 3.6% after what Citi analysts call a "low quality beat" in Q4 earnings.
EUROPEAN FUTURES TICK UP AHEAD AS EARNINGS TRICKLE IN (0740 GMT)
Stock futures are heading higher in Europe ahead of the open, with EuroSTOXX50 futures signalling a 0.55% lift, as traders gear up to digest the latest earnings reports from some key European corporates.
FTSE 100 futures contracts are 0.40% higher and German DAX futures are seen rising 0.5%.
Traders expect shares in Sweden's SEB to lift after the bank reported a forecast-beating rise in fourth-quarter net earnings on Thursday and proposed a larger-than-expected rise in shareholder dividend.
The same goes for Finnish telecoms company Nokia, which beat quarterly operating profit expectations and forecast higher 2023 sales and Paris-listed chipmaker STMicroelectronics which beat fourth-quarter sales expectations.
Meanwhile, Swedish truck maker AB Volvo reported a slightly smaller rise than expected in fourth-quarter core profit. A positive earnings run would add fuel to the optimism that has coloured the beginning of 2023. But at odds with the positivity, is a recent Reuters poll of economists who said global economic growth is forecast to barely clear 2% this year and that a greater risk was a further downgrade to their view.
HEADING FOR A SOFT LANDING? (0719 GMT)
While the European corporate earnings season still has a way to go, results so far have left investors hopeful that the region may well be able to weather the storm that's combining inflationary pressure and economic slowdown. Things are not as bad as some had feared, with the region's prospects boosted by China's reopening, an unexpectedly mild winter and resilient activity data.
These hopes have lifted the pan-European STOXX 600 index, which is up 6.4% for the month and is set for its best January performance since 2015.
Over in Asia, the return of Hong Kong markets helped lift MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan to a fresh seven-month high, with gold hovering at a nine-month high and the dollar wallowing at an eight-month low.
Investors' focus is on next week's set of central bank meetings as the U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England decide on their rate-hike paths. Now that one of the major central banks, the Bank of Canada, has said it will pause interest rate hikes for now, traders are hopeful that the Fed (and to some extent the Bank of England) will be next.
Meanwhile, Thursday's earnings report from LVMH will underscore just how important China's reopening is likely to be for the luxury industry. It remains to be seen whether revenge shopping from Chinese consumers will provide the fillip the industry has been pining for.
Speaking of earnings, Tesla's aggressive price cuts paid off, igniting demand for its EVs and helping the carmaker beat Wall Street targets for fourth-quarter revenue and profit.
Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday:
Economic events: Sweden's consumer confidence data for January, U.S. GDP data.
Earnings: LVMH, Nokia, STMicroelectronics, Diageo and Volvo in Europe; Blackstone, Mastercard, Southwest Airlines, Intel, and Visa among others in United States.
