A Shell gas station on May 03, 2024 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
LONDON — The European stock market opened lower Thursday as traders assessed regional earnings reports.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered beneath the flatline shortly after the open, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was also 0.4% lower. France’s CAC 40 was up 0.6%, while the German DAX was nearly flat and Italy’s FTSE MIB rose nearly 0.2%.
It’s another busy day of earnings reports in Europe with BBVA, BNP Paribas, Vinci, BMW, Siemens Healthineers, Anglo American, Danske Bank, ArcelorMittal, Moller Maersk and Vestas Wind Systems among the companies reporting.
Meanwhile, British oil major Shell on Thursday reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter profit amid lower crude prices, with adjusted earnings of $3.26 billion for the quarter, missing analyst expectations of $3.53 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
The European Central Bank and Bank of England are both due to publish their latest monetary policy decisions on Thursday. Neither central bank is expected to change its current interest rate position.
Global markets have experienced turbulence this week, with Wall Street seeing a second straight day of losses Wednesday following a selloff in software stocks.
S&P 500 futures rose overnight after the latest batch of corporate earnings, including Alphabet results. The quarterly results of fellow “Magnificent Seven” member Amazon are due Thursday.
Meanwhile, in Asia-Pacific markets overnight, South Korean stocks led declines, tracking Wall Street losses as the tech sell-off gained momentum.
Data releases in Europe on Thursday include German factory orders, French industrial production and EU retail sales.
— Jordan Butt contributed to this report
