Lacklustre earnings keep investors jittery

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets

By Ankur Banerjee, Asia Finance & Markets Breaking News Correspondent

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A sales miss by luxury giant LVMH due to Chinese shoppers keeping a lid on spending and disappointing results from major U.S. tech firms Tesla and Alphabet will likely keep investors skittish ahead of a slew of European earnings.

A busy Wednesday sees European banks take the spotlight, with the focus on whether gains from higher interest rates have run out of steam and if recent political drama is weighing on sentiment.

The logo of LVMH is seen during the annual shareholders meeting of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton in Paris, France, April 18, 2024. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

A busy Wednesday sees European banks take the spotlight, with the focus on whether gains from higher interest rates have run out of steam and if recent political drama is weighing on sentiment.

The euro zone’s two largest lenders by market value, Spain’s Santander and France’s BNP Paribas, are due to report for the April to June period, alongside Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Italy’s UniCredit.

Luxury stocks in Europe will likely take a beating after LVMH, owner of labels Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co and Hennessy, flagged a 14% decline in sales in Asia, excluding Japan, in the second quarter, after a 6% drop in first quarter.

A gauge of the top 10 European luxury stocks is already down 2.6% in July, set for a fifth straight month in the red after a profit warning from smaller label Burberry last week.

The technology sub-index in Europe, which has been volatile in the past few weeks due to worries of rising trade tensions over chips, will likely be under pressure after EV maker Tesla reported its smallest profit margin in more than five years.

Graphics are produced by Reuters.

Beyond earnings, attention will also be on PMI data in Europe that will allow investors to gauge the health of the economy and ascertain whether the European Central Bank will cut interest rates in September.

Currency traders are eyeing rapid gains by the yen, which is up 3.7% against the U.S. dollar this month and at more than six week high in the wake of suspected intervention by Tokyo and speculators unwinding short positions on the frail currency.

The Bank of Japan is due to meet next week as is the U.S. Federal Reserve and while both may hold rates, a lot is at stake if they strongly hint at diverging rate outlooks – the BOJ hinting at hikes vs the Fed hinting at cuts. 

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