European stock markets rallied in early stocks on Thursday and Hong Kong got off to a running start on an agenda still laden with US corporate results and economic indicators.
After two sessions of stagnation, or even a slight decline, the European indices moved forward: Paris rose by 0.71%, London by 0.30%, Frankfurt by 0.38% and Milan by around 1.02%. at 8:18 GMT.
In Asia, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange gained 2.37% in the first session of the week. Shanghai and Shenzhen are closed for the Chinese New Year holidays.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange stagnated on Thursday (-0.12%), after having risen by more than 3% in the previous three sessions.
Many corporate results on the agenda for the day in the United States and Europe, where the luxury giant LVMH will close the day after the European close.
But the news is also macroeconomic, with the first estimate of US growth for the fourth quarter, in addition to orders for durable goods in December before the opening of Wall Street.
On the monetary side, investors are focused on next week’s European (ECB) and US (Fed) central bank meetings. “They always bet that the Fed will be less harsh,” according to John Plassard, investment specialist at Mirabaud. However, he considers this hope “questionable”.
Nokia and STMicroelectronics confident
Finnish telecom equipment giant Nokia on Thursday announced revenue and profit (4.3 billion euros) in 2022 ahead of expectations, thanks to a strong last quarter, and expects “robust demand”. “for this year, in the midst of the 5G battle. The stock is up 6.58% in early trading.
For its part, the French-Italian semiconductor maker STMicroelectronics doubled its net income in 2022 and its revenue increased by a quarter, thanks in particular to “strong demand” for chips in the automotive and electronics industries, which pushes the group to invest in new plants. Its forecast for the first quarter of 2023 beat analysts’ expectations, sending the stock up 7.60%.
Among other achievements
Volvo’s financials (-3.83%) came in slightly below expectations, particularly on margins as the company said it continued to look to reduce long-term orders due to inflation. “Some investors could have expected an increase in forecasts for the truck sector”, especially after a communication to this effect from its competitor Paccar, but this was not the case, RBC analysts also underline.
The Swiss group SGS (-2.63%), specialized in product control and certification, published a lower than forecast net profit for 2022, cut in particular by a charge for restructuring costs.
In France, the collective catering specialist Elior (-6.22%) confirmed its targets for 2022/2023, with an increase in turnover in the first quarter of its staggered financial year, still benefiting from a “Covid recovery effect” and price goes up.
In the US, assurances and record profits generated by Tesla appeared to win investors into electronic trading after the close of trading (+5.5%), while IMB did not (-1.96%).
On the foreign exchange and currency front
The euro remained stable (+0.01% to $1.0918) on a high level against the greenback. The pound fell 0.08% to $1.2402 at around 08:13 GMT.
Bitcoin fell 2.44% to $23,020.
Oil prices edged up slightly around 0810 GMT, with WTI up 0.56% to $80.60 a barrel and Brent North Sea up 0.21% to $86.30, both for delivery to March.
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