Europe midday: Shares slide into the red despite HSBC, BP earnings

by | Apr 27, 2021

European stocks slipped into red territory at lunchtime on Tuesday despite positive earnings reports from BP and HSBC, with investors waiting for the start of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.12%, with bumper first-quarter results from UK energy major BP helping to lift oil and gas stocks.

Traders will be watching Fed chairman Jerome Powell for any hints on policy direction, especially around inflation which has pushed bond yields higher in recent months, sparking worries about rising borrowing costs.

“At present the session isn’t looking like it is going to pick up this afternoon. The Dow Jones futures have the US index rising 0.1% at best, just about hefting it back across the psychologically significant 34,000 mark,” said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

BP shares rose after the company beat first quarter profit forecasts, driven by higher oil prices, and said it had met its debt cutting target a year early.

Investors were further cheered by news that the company would resume share buybacks worth $500m in the second quarter.

UBS fell as it took an unexpected $774m hit from the collapse of Archegos Capital, offsetting a better-than-expected 14% rise in quarterly net profit.

Danish freight forwarder DSV Panalpina jumped 8.7% after it agreed to buy the logistics division of Kuwait’s Agility Public Warehousing Co in a deal worth $4.1 billion.

Shares in software firm Aveva fell as chief executive Craig Hayman opted to return to the USA for personal reasons and would leave the group after three years.

HSBC shares were higher after first quarter profits more than doubled year on year, boosted by a $400m reversal in credit losses, profits across all major divisions, and with its European and US operations back in the black.

For the three months to March 31, the lender posted adjusted pre-tax profits of $6.4bn. That compared positively to the $4.3bn anticipated by analysts.

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