On Thursday, the key European stock indices declined amid the publication of fresh statistics on the labor market in the EU. In addition, investors continue to analyze the corporate earnings report for the third quarter of 2022 from the top European companies as well as the outcome of the November Fed meeting.
At the time of this writing, the composite indicator of Europe's leading companies STOXX Europe 600 sank by 0.9% to 409.69%.
The French CAC 40 dropped by 0.63%, the German DAX lost 0.85%, and the British FTSE 100 declined by 0.28%.
Top gainers and losers
The stocks of British supermarket group Sainsbury gained 1.4%. Earlier, the company confirmed its financial outlook for 2022.
The stocks of Swiss network of online pharmacies Zur Rose Group AG fell by 13.2%.
The market capitalization of Dutch carmaker Stellantis NV sank by 2.1% despite an increase in revenue in the third quarter amid rising car sales and prices. Earlier, the company's management outlined the problems in the logistics chain which may have a negative impact on future sales.
The stocks of German carmaker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG fell by 2.8%. At the same time, in July-September the company increased its net profit and revenues due to its well-thought-out pricing policy.
The stocks of German clothing and accessories maker Hugo Boss AG fell by 3.7%. By the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2022, the company increased its net profit by 12% and revenue by 24%.
The stocks of Dutch financial conglomerate ING Groep NV soared by 5% despite the 28.5% drop in net profit in July-September. At the same time, the Dutch lender announced the repurchase of shares to the amount of $1.47 billion.
The market capitalization of the largest French bank BNP Paribas SA increased by 2.6%. In the third quarter of fiscal 2022, the company grew net income by 10% and revenue by 8% amid strong trading revenues. Both totals of the French lender were better than analysts' forecasts.
The stocks of French insurer AXA SA increased by 1.2%. In July-September, the company slightly increased its revenues amid rising revenues in the health insurance segment.
The stocks of Europe's largest online fashion store Zalando dropped by 1.7%. Earlier, the management of the company said that it expected a significant drop in revenue and operating profit by the end of 2022.
The quotes of British telecommunications operator BT Group fell by 4.4%.
Market sentiment
In addition to quarterly reports of top European companies, on Thursday investors were discussing fresh macroeconomic data in the eurozone. For example, the unemployment rate in 19 EU countries was 6.6% in September, down from 6.7% in August.
Meanwhile, in October the number of unemployed in Spain decreased by 27 000 compared to September and reached 2,915 million people. The final October figure was the lowest since autumn 2008. At the same time, experts had forecast an increase of 42,000 in the number of unemployed.
On Wednesday, the results of the two-day November Fed meeting were published. The US regulator expectedly increased interest rates by 75 basis points for the fourth time in a row. The rate range now stands at 3.75-4% per year and is at its highest level since January 2008.
Market participants had expected the Fed to signal a slowdown in monetary policy tightening in the future. However, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's comments dashed those hopes. For example, Powell said it was very premature to expect a pause on the interest rate hike.
Meanwhile, the publication of the Bank of England's monetary policy decision and macroeconomic forecasts is scheduled for Thursday evening. Experts forecast that the British regulator will raise the rate by 75 basis points to 3% and will make it the biggest interest rate hike since 1989 amid record inflation in the country.
Previous trading results
On Wednesday, European stock indices closed in the red zone. The composite indicator of Europe's leading companies STOXX Europe 600 fell by 0.29% to 413.39 points.
The French CAC 40 sank by 0.81%, the German DAX decreased by 0.61%, and the British FTSE 100 lost 0.58%.
The stocks of Danish transport and logistics company A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S plunged by 5.8%. At the end of the third quarter of 2022, the financial company reported results that exceeded market expectations. However, it lowered its annual forecast for demand amid the permanently deteriorating situation in the global economy.
Quotes of British sports carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda plummeted by 15.3% after the report of a sharply higher pre-tax loss in July and September.
The market capitalization of Swedish cloud technology provider Sinch AB jumped by 38%. The day before, the company reported an 83% increase in revenue to $653 million in the third quarter.
The stocks of pharmaceutical company GSK rose by 1%. Last quarter, the British drugmaker increased revenues by 18%. The key reason for its positive results was a surge in sales of the Shingrix vaccine against shingles. According to preliminary forecasts of the company's managers, its sales should grow by 8-10% in 2022.
The stocks of British clothing chain Next Plc grew by 1.6%. The company increased its sales by 0.4% in July-September.
Quotes of Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk rose by 7.8%. The company increased its net profit to 14.41 billion Danish kroner in the third quarter from 12.12 billion Danish kroner in the same period of 2021. In addition, Novo Nordisk's revenues surged by 28% to 45.57 billion kroner in July-September amid strong sales of its anti-diabetes drug Ozempic.
The market capitalization of Swiss dental implant maker Straumann increased by 4% due to an increase in its forecast for organic sales growth this year.
The stocks of Danish ocean freighter and port terminal operator Maersk fell by 4.5% after the news came that demand for transportation was slowing amid the prospect of a global recession.
The stocks of Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air plummeted by over 7%. From March to September, the carrier recorded an operating loss of 63.8 million euros.
Quotes of British commercial bank Metro Bank soared by 5.8%. By the end of September, the bank returned to profit.
The market capitalization of German software developer TeamViewer AG rose by 13.4%. At the end of the third quarter, the company reported earnings that beat market forecasts and also confirmed its forecast through the end of 2022.
On Wednesday, investors discussed the latest macroeconomic data on the eurozone. According to experts' final estimate, in October the manufacturing PMI in 19 EU countries decreased to 46.4 points from 48.4 points recorded in September. At the same time, analysts forecasted the index value at 46.6 points.
According to the October outcome, the unemployment rate in Germany was forecasted to remain at the September level of 5.5%. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed in the country rose by 8,000 in October against the experts' expectations of an increase of 12,500.
Germany's total exports fell by 0.5% in September compared to August. Imports sank by a record 2.3% since January. In September, the surplus of foreign trade balance amounted to 3.7 billion euros against 11.7 billion euros recorded in the same period last year.
