EUROPE HEADS SOUTH ON BUSY EARNINGS DAY (0647 GMT) European shares are set to open lower on Wednesday as fresh investor concerns over the economy and the health of the banking sector overshadow well-received earnings from tech groups Microsoft and Alphabet. EuroSTOXX50 and FTSE futures fell 0.5 and 0.3% respectively ahead of the cash market open, while euro STOXX bank futures lost more than 1%. The strong tech earnings however drove Nasdaq futures up 1.3%, pointing to a positive start on Wall Street. In Europe investors will have to digest a flurry of earnings updates. In Britain, StanChart said Q1 pretax profit jumped 21%, beating expectations, while GSK also beat expectations helped by sales of its blockbuster shingles vaccine Shingrix. Results are in too from Beiersdorf, Puma, Orange, Safran and Danone, Roche, Vonovia and Iberdrola, just to name a few.
(Danilo Masoni)
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WOWED BY TECH, WORRIED BY BANKS (0615 GMT) The steady stream of bad news from banks continues to cast a pall over markets this week, even as global tech giants surprise investors by beating earnings estimates.
Spain's Santander dragged European stocks down on Tuesday. UBS Group fell after setting aside more money to provide for toxic mortgages, as part of its merger with fallen rival Credit Suisse . That makes investors wary of such provisions at the likes of HSBC , Lloyds and NatWest Group , all of which are due to report earnings in the coming weeks. Across the Atlantic, First Republic Bank's plunging deposits and tumbling shares are rippling through the U.S. regional banking sector. U.S. recession fears have also resurfaced after consumer confidence hit a nine-month low, alongside some weak earnings.
In a week packed with tech sector earnings, the focus moves from artificial intelligence to advertising revenues as Facebook-parent Meta Platforms and streaming device maker Roku Inc report. Microsoft Corp earnings beat came after hours on Tuesday.
In other news, EU industry chief Thierry Breton identified five Alphabet subsidiaries, two Meta units, two Microsoft businesses, Twitter and Alibaba's AliExpress among 19 companies subject to landmark EU online content rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:
U.S. durable goods orders, Germany and France consumer confidence Earnings: Meta Platforms, Boeing, GSK, Deutsche Boerse, Roku Inc
(Vidya Ranganathan)
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