European markets flipped into the green shortly before noon on Thursday as strong earnings from Societe Generale cheered investors who were also eyeing a policy decision from the Bank of England.
“After a solid run-up in the previous session, gains are harder to come by today. Even so, European bourses gave it a good shot in early trade before slipping lower. The positive tone remains as investors digest a slew of corporate earnings, upbeat data and look ahead to the Bank of England rate announcement,” said Sophie Griffiths, Market Analyst, UK & EMEA, OANDA.
“European indices closed steeply higher on Wednesday on reopening optimism and impressive Eurozone business activity. The good news has kept on flowing today, suggesting the Eurozone economy has turned a corner.”
As of 1148 BST, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.19% at 440.70, but nearly all the major regional bourses were higher – even if only barely.
The Dax was edging up 0.03% to 15,174.93, alongside a 0.20% rise to 24,512.56 for the FTSE Mibtel, although the Ibex 35 was dipping 0.28% to 8,943.0.
In equity news, shares in Societe Generale rose 4% as the French bank recorded a higher than expected first quarter profit with its equities unit rebounding from to post its best performance in six years.
Italian bank UniCredit was also higher after posting better-than-expected first-quarter net profit thanks to higher revenues driven by fee and trading income and shrinking loan losses.
Net income for the first quarter came in at 814m. Analysts were expecting a net income of 204 million euros.
Shares in global nutrition group Glanbia were up 5% after the company said its first-quarter revenues were up 10.5% on a constant currency basis compared to 2020.
Anheuser-Busch InBev gained 3.8% after it reported first-quarter earnings ahead of expectations and said North America boss Michel Doukeris will replace Carlos Brito as chief executive officer.
Online ticket platform Trainline fell 6% after the company reported wider losses as demand plunged during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mondi shares were lower by 4% despite the company reporting strong demand for its packaging as online shopping surged and customers looked for more eco-friendly products in the first quarter.
There was further good news on the economic front with Eurostat reporting a 2.7% month-on-month jump in euro area retail sales (consensus: 1.6%), alongside sharp upwards revisions to prior months’ data.
