* STOXX 600 starts week on positive note
* Astrazeneca +6%, plans trial to test Calquence in Covid-19 patients
* FTSE 100 slightly down on lockdown extension worries
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.
Q1 EARNINGS: WHO CARES! (0808 GMT)
Even the world's largest financial market regulator doesn't care about first quarter
earnings, why would an investor care? Everybody is keenly watching out for outlook on future
quarters and 2021.
"Many investors we have spoken with have discounted 2020 earnings altogether, and are
focused instead on the outlook for 2021," Goldman Sachs says.
The Jan-March period is done and dusted, and nobody is focused on the past.
GS says it expects investors will mostly "look through" reported results, which will capture
only the start of shutdowns that began at the end of the quarter.
The SEC for instance also urged companies to focus their upcoming earnings releases on
"where the company stands today, operationally and financially", while noting that historical
information such as Q1 financials may be relatively less significant for investors.
In a nutshell, do not expect major price declines from extremely weak Q1 results, but be
wary of swings from forward looking comments.
JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Johnson and Johnson are kicking off the Q1
earnings season in the U.S. today.
(Thyagaraju Adinarayan)
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OPENING SNAPSHOT: HEALTHY RALLY (0754 GMT)
European bourses comfortably in positive territory, mainly boosted by the healthcare sector
on a slew of positive corporate headlines.
Astrazeneca leads the pack, jumping 7%, after the British drugmaker said it will
start a clinical trial to test Calquence, a drug used to treat cancer, in severely ill Covid-19
patients. The share move added more than $6 billion to its market capitalisation.
The pan-European stocks index was up 1% this morning helped by a 2% jump in the
health care sector. Other positive healthcare-related news include, Swedish rare disease drug
maker Sobi's stronger than expected Q1 results and Italy's Diasorin seeking
authorisation to launch a serology test to detect antibodies against Covid-19.
Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 is still in negative territory as Astrazeneca's jump is not
able to offset losses at other British blue chip stocks as signs the country will remain under
lockdown for a longer period is denting the mood.
(Joice Alves)
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ON OUR RADAR: NEXT, SWISS ASSET MANAGERS, DIVIDENDS (0656 GMT)
Futures are pointing to a positive open for Europe as some shops in Austria and Spain are
opening for business as the countries attempt to restart the economy after weeks of lockdown.
British clothing retailer Next will also reopen its online business today.
A new day and a new batch of dividend delays: Julius Baer wants to split its 2019
dividend payment into two halves, and AB InBev says it will revise dividend proposal.
As we get ready to start the earnings season, Swiss manager GAM Holding's plans to
cut roughly one-sixth of its staff this year as its AUM fell by more than 20 billion Swiss
francs in Q1.
There is also a few changes of heart on deals: Shell dropped a deal with Gazprom
Neft on a Russian Arctic oil joint venture and the owner of Poland's airline LOT
pulled out of a deal to buy German rival Condor.
(Joice Alves)
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BOURSES SEEN HIGHER AS SOME BUSINESSES GET BACK TO WORK (0543 GMT)
European bourses are seen opening higher this morning as some countries start lifting some
of the coronavirus restrictions and signs of peaking in the pandemic help sentiment.
Austria will reopen thousands of shops and some businesses got back to work in Spain
yesterday though shops, bars and public spaces will stay closed until at least April
26.
As we start the week after the Easter break, oil prices rose more than 1% after the main
U.S. energy forecasting agency predicted shale output would fall by the most on record in April,
adding to cuts from OPEC+ agreed over Easter.
Also, better than expected exports and imports number from China are boosting sentiment.
Financial spreadbetters at IG expect London's FTSE to open 71 points higher at 5,914,
Frankfurt's DAX to open 167 points higher at 10,732 and Paris' CAC to open 44 points higher at
4,551.
(Joice Alves)
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(Reporting by Joice Alves, Julien Ponthus and Thyagaraju Adinarayan)
