Here’s What to Watch in European Stocks This Morning
Here’s What to Watch in European Stocks This Morning
(Bloomberg) -- Good morning. Here’s what we’re watching ahead of the European market open today.
China’s Pledge
The trade talks between the U.S. and China seemed to have made the kind of progress that had been anticipated, with China pledging to buy more U.S. goods. A final deal, however, to entirely remove the uncertainty, will only happen once President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping meet. China seems to really need the stability. Hundreds of Chinese firms have issued profit warnings this week and the country is still intervening to ease the despair. Keep an eye on cyclical stock sectors sensitive to trade talks for any reaction.
Delaying Tactics
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is on a charm offensive with Labour rebels to try and garner the support she needs to get at least a version of her current Brexit plans through a Parliament which has thus far shown little sign it intends to pass what she has proposed. Yet, though the government has remained steadfast on the current March deadline for leaving, the groundwork seems to be being laid for a delay. Perhaps then civil servants will have time for other things, like a spending review meant to herald the end of austerity.
Deutsche and Danske
The European bank earnings season gets under way proper with two of the worst performers last year, Germany’s Deutsche Bank AG and Denmark’s Danske Bank A/S and amid new regulatory scrutiny for the sector. After the ever-present Commerzbank AG merger chatter emerged once more on Thursday, Deutsche is already facing plenty of questions on that front along with queries on the continued shrinkage of the business. Danske, meanwhile, will be watched closely for any more updates on the money laundering scandal that marred 2018. Three Spanish lenders – BBVA SA, CaixaBank SA and Banco Sabadell SA – also are out with results. Beyond banking, watch numbers from Danish insulin giant Novo Nordisk A/S and an update from mining group Glencore Plc.
Growth Concerns
The tone going into the European day may be soured a little by the drop in Amazon.com Inc. shares in late trading in the U.S., owing to concerns about a soft outlook for the current quarter and worries about a slowdown in India, an increasingly important market for the consumer and retail sectors. And further concerns about growth were sparked by China’s factory PMI data coming in at the lowest in nearly three years, keeping a cap on oil after its best month since 2015.
Coming up…
After the stellar earnings from Royal Dutch Shell Plc and ConocoPhillips on Thursday, we’ll get more from the U.S. oil majors in the shape of Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. Watch too for industrial giant Honeywell Inc. and drug firm Merck & Co. Nonfarm payrolls top the day for economic data and the estimate is 165,000 jobs added, so start gathering the #nfpguesses from colleagues. Add to this manufacturing PMI data from across Europe and from the U.S. and it’ll be another busy day to contend with.
What We’ve Been Reading
This is what’s caught our eye over the last 24 hours
- Central banks are buying more gold than they have for half a century
- Here’s where some of the world’s top hedge funds are planning to invest in 2019
- The ambitious new London skyscraper working to defy the threat of Brexit
- The Swedish krona has had its worst start to a year since 1993. The slump may have farther to go
- Inside the takedown of Nissan and Renault boss Carlos Ghosn
- In the Year of the Pig, the ancient Chinese practice of feng shui says put your money in palm oil
- The story of a blind man with one foot who robbed a bank in Austin, Texas
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net
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