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European stocks are opening lower across the board today in giving back some of yesterday’s gains as investors remain cautious ahead of major central bank decisions and big tech earnings later this week. Here are the opening changes:
- Eurostoxx -0.2%
- Germany DAX -0.1%
- France CAC 40 -0.4%
- UK FTSE -0.9%
- Spain IBEX -0.3%
- Italy FTSE MIB -0.4%
The FTSE 100 is leading declines to start the session, with a sharp drop in HSBC shares weighing on sentiment after the bank reported weaker-than-expected revenue. HSBC shares are down nearly 7% in early trading, putting pressure on the wider European banking sector. Besides that, broader caution ahead of the UK budget announcement tomorrow is also a consideration for the time being.
Meanwhile, French stocks are unable to sustain the rebound yesterday as political uncertainty remains a concern. Ongoing protests are adding to worries over the country’s economic and fiscal outlook, with the latest French consumer confidence figures not helping either. The October survey showed that household confidence slumped to 80, its weakest since 2013.
As for the broader market, the more cautious mood isn’t too surprising. Investors have plenty to digest over the coming days, particularly with the Fed and ECB decisions coming up alongside major tech earnings. The latter will be watched closely especially after the recent selling pressure in the AI trade, with investors questioning whether the enormous spending by big tech firms will eventually deliver the returns that are being promised.
The trepidation is also reflected in US futures, with S&P 500 futures down by 0.1% and Nasdaq futures down by 0.2% currently.
For now, European equities are not finding much reason to extend yesterday’s rebound. And with the economic calendar looking relatively quiet today, broader risk sentiment and earnings developments should remain the bigger trading focus for the time being.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.
