On Monday, the key European stock indices mostly increased. Only the British FTSE 100 is trading in the red zone. Investors are discussing the prospects of further monetary policy tightening by the European Central Bank and the upcoming announcement of a new UK Prime Minister.
Moreover, traders continue to analyze corporate earnings reports for the third quarter of 2022 from top European investment banks. They are considered an important indicator of business conditions in the eurozone.
At the time of writing, the composite indicator of Europe's leading companies STOXX Europe 600 rose by 0.58% to 398.6 points.
The French CAC 40 gained 0.53%, the German DAX advanced by 0.54%, and the British FTSE 100 declined by 0.33%.
Top gainers and losers
The stocks of Dutch producer of consumer goods and medical equipment Philips fell by 2.6%. The company reported a net loss in the third quarter of fiscal 2022, which was worse than the analysts' preliminary forecast. In addition, Philips management said on Monday that it planned to cut operating costs, including laying off 4,000 employees globally.
Quotes of Dutch technology investor Prosus collapsed by 11% amid concerns about the growth of the Asian market.
The market capitalization of Swiss bank Credit Suisse rose by 1.4% after the news came of a €230 million payout to settle a case of irregularities in cross-border transactions.
The stocks of British online fashion and cosmetics retailer Asos Plc soared by 4.5%.
Market sentiment
On Monday, European stock market participants focused on the latest EU statistics. According to preliminary estimates, the Composite PMI in Germany declined to 44.1 points in October from 45.7 points in September. At the same time, the October figure was the lowest since early 2020.
Meanwhile, the Composite PMI in France fell to 50 points in October from 51.2 points in September, the lowest in two years and seven months.
The Composite PMI in the UK dropped to 47.2 points from 49.1 points, and the manufacturing PMI sank to its lowest since May.
According to a preliminary estimate by S&P Global, the Composite PMI for 19 EU countries fell to 47.1 points in September, down from 48.1 points in September. The rate of decline in the PMI for 19 eurozone countries accelerated to the highest level in two years. Notably, the value of the index below 50 points indicates a decline in business activity and the continued risk of a recession amid the struggle of households with the cost-of-living crisis.
Meanwhile, the EU manufacturing PMI in October plummeted to a May 2020 low of 46.6 points from 48.4 points in September, while the Services PMI index fell to 48.2 points from 48.8 points in September.
On Monday, the main reason for the decline of the British FTSE 100 index was a sharp strengthening of the pound against the US dollar and permanently losing oil prices. In addition, British traders focused on the race for taking the post of the UK prime minister. Former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is likely to be the winner.
The day before, the local media reported that UK former Prime Minister Boris Johnson had pulled out of the contest to become the next leader in the British government.
On Monday, the key driver for the European stock indices became signals that the Federal Reserve might lower the rate of interest rate hike as early as December 2022.
This week, investors are awaiting the European Central Bank meeting scheduled for Thursday. Analysts expect the regulator to firmly tighten its monetary policy amid steadily rising inflation in the eurozone countries.
Previous trading results
On Friday, European stock indexes closed in the red zone on fresh UK statistics. In addition, investors analyzed weak corporate earnings reports for the third quarter of 2022 from top companies in the EU.
Consequently, the composite indicator of Europe's leading companies STOXX Europe 600 fell by 0.6% to 396.29 points. The French CAC 40 declined by 0.85%, the German DAX lost 0.29% and only the British FTSE 100 gained 0.37%.
The stocks of German manufacturer of sports goods Adidas dropped by 9.5%. Earlier, the company's management lowered its financial forecast for 2022 for the third time since the start of the year amid weak demand for goods and COVID-19 restrictions in China.
According to the preliminary reports for the third quarter, Adidas's profits from continuing operations fell 2.7 times as the company wound down its business in Russia.
The quotes of Adidas's biggest competitors German Puma and British JD Sports Fashion sank by 7.3% and 6.1% respectively.
The market capitalization of Swedish telecommunications operator Telia plummeted by 12.3%. In the third quarter of fiscal 2022, the company increased its net profit by 8% to $151.8 million, while analysts had previously forecasted growth of up to €2.1 billion.
The stocks of French media conglomerate Vivendi decreased by 2.9%. In July and September, the company increased its revenue by 4.1% to €2.578 billion. However, the revenues of its television division Canal + Group dropped by 3.3% to €1.419 billion. This figure is considered much worse than the consensus forecast of analysts.
The stocks of French cosmetics maker L'Oreal fell by 5.8%, and the shares of the owner of luxury fashion brands Kering SA sank by 3.3% despite the strong reports of the companies for the third quarter.
The stocks of French carmaker Renault rose by 0.1%. The company reported stronger revenue growth in July-September than market forecasts.
The market capitalization of British food delivery service Deliveroo Plc jumped by 3.5%. In the third quarter of fiscal 2022, the company's gross transaction volume advanced by 8% to $1.91 billion.
The stocks of French-Italian luxury eyewear company Essilor Luxottica fell by 2.1% despite an 8% increase in July-September revenue amid a rebound in Asia-Pacific sales.
On Friday, European stock market participants focused on fresh UK statistics. According to the Office for National Statistics, in September retail sales in the UK fell by 6.9% year-on-year, and by 1.4% month-on-month. At the same time, analysts forecasted a decline of 5% and 0.5% respectively. They believe the key reason for such a sharp drop in retail sales is the limitation of discretionary spending of British consumers.
Meanwhile, borrowings of the UK government amounted to 20.01 billion pounds in September against the experts' forecast of 17.1 billion pounds.
According to the market research conducted by international analytical company GfK, the Consumer Confidence Index in the UK rose by 2 points to minus 47 points in October. This was the first increase for almost a year. At the same time, analysts expected a further decline of the indicator to minus 52 points.
Earlier, the indicator had been steadily declining for many months in a row and updated its record lows since 1974.