Paris, France – July 29, 2024 – European markets experienced mixed trading today, with significant individual stock movements driven by corporate earnings reports and economic data. Amundi saw a notable decline in Paris, while Essilorluxottica and Rexel posted strong gains. In other European news, Astrazeneca and Barclays reported better-than-expected results, and Philips announced a downward revision of its forecasts.
In Paris, asset management firm Amundi fell by over 6% following a second-quarter pre-tax result that fell short of expectations, despite robust collection figures. Conversely, Essilorluxottica climbed more than 6% after announcing a 7.3% increase in its turnover for the second quarter. TF1 also performed well, rising 5.24% after reaffirming its annual outlook. Similarly, Rexel advanced by 5.86% after reporting an increase in its second-quarter sales.Stellantis,though,yielded 1.95% after confirming a net loss of 2.3 billion euros for the first half of the year.
Across the rest of Europe,Astrazeneca’s shares advanced by 2.91% after exceeding profit expectations for the second quarter. Barclays also traded in positive territory,up 1.16%, following the release of its half-yearly results, which were better than anticipated. The Dutch group Philips saw its stock soar by 9.86% after it lowered its forecasting for the impact of customs duties, attributed to the trade agreement between the United States and the European Union. In contrast, the Swiss manufacturer of construction chemicals, SIKA, decreased by 3% after reporting a drop in sales and profit for the first half of the year.
Rates Watch: German yields saw slight progress today as investors turned their attention to upcoming monetary policy meetings from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan, alongside a series of key economic data releases. The yield on ten-year U.S. Treasuries lost 1.6 basis points to settle at 4.4038%, while the two-year yield shed 0.2 basis points to 3.9201%. In Germany, the yield on the ten-year Bund advanced by 0.6 basis points to 2.6950%, and the two-year Bund gained 1.6 basis points to 1.9180%.
currency Markets: The euro reached a one-month low against the dollar today. This movement reflects investor sentiment that the terms of the trade agreement between the EU and the United States have favored the U.S. and offered limited positive implications for the economic outlook of the Eurozone. The dollar gained 0.13% against a basket of reference currencies. The euro depreciated by 0.12% to trade at $1.1574.
Oil Prices: Oil prices experienced a slight increase today, buoyed by optimism surrounding a potential de-escalation of the trade war between the United States and its major trading partners, as well as increased pressure from President Donald Trump on Russia concerning the conflict in Ukraine. Brent crude advanced by 0.5% to $70.39 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 0.51% to $67.05 per barrel.
Key Economic Indicators for July 29:
- USA (2:00 PM GMT): Consumer Confidence for July. Previous: 95.0,Consensus: 93.0.
- USA (2:00 PM GMT): Job Offers (JOLTS) for june. Previous: 7,500 MLNS, Consensus: 7,769 MLNS.
(Note: Some data may experience slight offsets.)
