European stock indicators showed a decline at the close of trading on Thursday. Thus, the general indicator of the European region STOXX Europe 600 decreased by 0.69%. The UK FTSE 100 indicator lost 0.87%, France's CAC 40 - 0.26%, Germany's DAX - 0.67%, Spain's IBEX 35 - 0.76%, and Italy's FTSE MIB - 1.11%.
Investors are not ready to take risks in an unstable situation in the world. In particular, the authorities of the Russian Federation announced the withdrawal of their troops from the Ukrainian border, or rather the end of the exercises. At the same time, the US authorities say that Russia has just not withdrawn its armed forces, but on the contrary, increased their number by 7 thousand soldiers.
Moreover, the world community is discussing the results of the US Federal Reserve meeting in January. Analysts believe that the US regulator is ready to move to tougher monetary policy measures and significantly raise rates in the near future. These measures are aimed at combating the growing high rates of inflation in the country and around the world.
European companies continue to report, and the results of their reporting have an impact on the value of shares.
Airbus SE showed a decrease in revenue for the fourth quarter to 16.99 billion euros (compared to last year's 19.75 billion). They attribute such results to a decrease in aircraft deliveries compared to the level of last year. The revenues of the Airbus divisions for the production of helicopters, aerospace, and defense equipment also decreased. All this led to a decrease in the value of the company's securities by 1.3%.
The operating profit of the English bank Standard Chartered PLC (StanChart) increased by 4% in the last quarter of 2021. The value of the company's securities increased by 1.7%.
The German bank Commerzbank AG showed good reporting results and announced the resumption of dividend payments this year. This had a positive impact on the company's share price, which increased by 3.2%.
The French holding company Kering SA, which includes many well-known brands, showed excellent results over the past year, even in comparison with the level of 2019 (before the coronavirus pandemic). In particular, the strong reporting of the Gucci brand led to an increase in the value of Kering SA shares by 5%.
Another company from France, Orange, managed to increase its revenues to 11.15 billion euros last year, which is 0.4 billion more than a year earlier. The company's stock prices rose by 0.55%.
France's largest bank BNP Paribas SA has announced a major deal to sell banking operations in Spain to Banca March. Analysts assume that the total amount of assets that are transferred to the management of the Spanish bank is about 3.6 billion euros. The share price of BNP Paribas SA declined by 1.2%.
Nestle S.A. showed revenue growth of 3.3%, and profit - by 38.2%. The value of the company's securities increased by 0.07%.
The European automotive industry is losing ground due to the global shortage of components. In this regard, car sales are declining. Thus, the number of registered new cars in January decreased by 6% compared to the same period in 2021, to the level of 682,596 thousand. This is the minimum indicator for the first month of the year for all time. Against the background of this news, Volkswagen AG's securities fell by 1.5%, and Stellantis N.V. - by 1.8%.
