Europe open: Markets rise but rangebound ahead of risk events

28th Oct 2024 07:57

(Sharecast News) - European stock markets rose on Monday but gains were only mild ahead of a number of key risk events from the US over the coming week, including tech earnings, jobs data and the presidential election.

The Stoxx 600 was up 0.2% at 519.91 by 0941 CET, as decent performances in Madrid and Paris (both up 0.8%) were met with smaller gains elsewhere.

"US markets are braced for a full-on assault, with the coming week littered with potential banana skins," said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.

Global equity markets were bracing for the latest quarterly results from five of the Magnificent Seven tech stocks this week: Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple and Amazon.com. Also scheduled to publish earnings are economic bellwethers Ford, McDonald's, PayPal, Caterpillar, Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

While Monday's economic data calendar was quiet, the focus will likely be on US non-farm payrolls due out on Friday, which are expected to show a big drop in job creation in October to 140,000, compared with the bumper 254,000 number in September.

Meanwhile, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and Democratic vice president Kamala Harris were still in a tight race in key swing states ahead of the 5 November election vote. "Investors are concerned about a disputed outcome disrupting global markets and triggering renewed geopolitical uncertainty," said Patrick Munnelly, partner of market strategy at Tickmill Group.

In other news, oil prices plummeted on Monday as Israel and Iran traded airstrikes that didn't target oil or nuclear sites. Crude markets have been volatile in recent weeks on fears that an escalation of conflict might affect supplies from Iran, which accounts for around 4% of global oil supplies. Brent was down 4.5% at $72.21 a barrel by 0826 GMT.

Philips drops

The share price of Koninklijke Philips, the health tech giant commonly known as Philips, dropped 16% after the Amsterdam-listed company lowered its full-year sales guidance as it reported an unexpected decline in third-quarter revenues. Philips is now guiding to sales growth of just 0.5-1.5% for the year, down from earlier guidance of 3-5%.

In London, Lloyds fell after saying it is assessing a set a new standard for motor dealers acting as credit brokers, requiring them to disclose commissions paid by lenders more comprehensively to customers. According to the Court of Appeal, lenders were also liable for any non-disclosures by dealers.

Oil majors BP, Shell, Repsol and TotalEnergies were firmly lower as the price of oil tanked.