European Stocks Haven't Had Such a Boring Week Since Christmas

(Bloomberg) -- So much for an exciting end to the month.

Last week, the Stoxx 50 and the DAX were nearing bull market levels, but after traders returned from the Easter break, it’s as if all the air got sucked out of the market. The Stoxx Europe 600 gauge hasn’t had such a small weekly move this year and the lack of direction is reminiscent of the final few days of 2018.

You’d think the non-stop earnings stream would give the market a direction but, alas, the positive and negative results in Europe were split roughly in half. One thing remained constant: European stock funds continued losing money, with $1.9 billion leaving, according to Bank of America Corp. data.

Tech was the clear winner of this week, with Germany’s SAP SE surging after raising its annual profit forecast and as the activist Elliott Management Corp. revealed a stake. It also helped that U.S. tech giants, including Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp., had positive results. Healthcare stocks recovered from their three weeks of declines as Sanofi’s profit rose more than expected and Novartis AG boosted its earnings outlook.

Miners, banks and automakers dragged at the bottom of the European equity pile. Glencore Plc plunged after revealing it’s under investigation by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for possible corrupt practices. Deutsche Bank AG tumbled after cutting its outlook for full-year revenue in the wake of its ninth straight quarter of contraction and as merger talks with Commerzbank AG collapsed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ksenia Galouchko in London at kgalouchko1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Blaise Robinson at brobinson58@bloomberg.net, Jon Menon, John Viljoen

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