European stocks close lower
European stock markets closed lower on Thursday, with the Stoxx 600 index closing down 0.2%.
Major stock markets closed mixed. Britain’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.7% to 8,174 points; Germany’s DAX index fell 0.2% to 17,905 points; France’s CAC index fell 0.8% to 7,921 points; Italy’s FTSE MIB index fell. 0.1% to 33,774 points.
— Karen Gilchrist
ING Chief Financial Officer: We are satisfied no matter what the interest rate environment is
ING Chief Financial Officer Tanate Phutrakul said the banking union is necessary for the competitiveness of the European banking industry.
U.S. stocks open higher
U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 224 points, or 0.62%. The S&P 500 rose about 0.73% and the Nasdaq rose 0.86%.
—Sarah Min
Hugo Boss shares fall 7% amid unstable demand outlook
Hugo Boss share price.
Shares in German retailer Hugo Boss fell 7% at 2:13 pm in London after the fashion company marked “Sluggish overall local demand” in China and macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty weighed on global sentiment.
In the first quarter, group sales increased 5% to 1.014 billion euros ($1.084 billion), and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased 6% to 69 million euros.
—Jenny Reed
Pandora raises guidance, shares rise 6%
At noon London time, Pandora shares were up 6%, second only to the world’s largest jewelry brand report First-quarter revenue grew 18% and the company raised its full-year forecast.
The Danish company has 2,500 stores worldwide and has revenue of 6.8 billion Danish kroner ($976 million). It now expects organic growth of 8% to 10% this year, up from previous guidance of 6% to 9%.
Its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin rose from 21.5% to 22%, and is expected to remain around 25% for the full year.
CEO Alexander Lacik told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe”: “Pandora’s strategy is being implemented very hard, and we have been working hard to diversify geographically, diversify the product range to try to sell a complete jewelry brand.”
Consumer pricing has changed little, he said, but the company has been working to build a stronger brand narrative and expand its product range.
“The macro picture of the jewelry market … has been sluggish over the past two years and continues to be so … we seem to be on the winning side. We’re gaining market share almost everywhere,” Lacik added .
—Jenny Reed
Economist says Fed monetary policy will depend on ‘aggregate data’
Janet Henry, chief global economist at HSBC, discusses the state of the U.S. economy and the outlook for Fed policy.
Universal Music Group rises slightly after agreeing to TikTok licensing deal
Taylor Swift performs at the “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” held at the National Stadium in Singapore on March 2, 2024.
Ashok Kumar | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
10:15 a.m. London, after the record labels of top-selling artists including Taylor Swift, Adele and Harry Styles struck new licensing deals with TikTok. Universal Music Group shares are trading slightly above par.
Earlier this year, TikTok removed songs from artists signed to UMG from videos posted by users after the two companies failed to reach an agreement.
UMG said in a statement that the new agreement will “deliver significant, industry-leading benefits to UMG’s global artists, songwriters and labels and bring their music back to TikTok’s global community of more than one billion people.”
read more here.
—Jenny Reed
European stocks get off to a choppy start
Stoxx 600 Index.
European stocks opened choppily on Thursday, with major stock markets mixed on a slew of earnings reports.
benchmark Stoke 600 The index gave up early gains and fell 0.14% as of 8:56 a.m. London time. Britain’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.45% and France’s CAC 40 index fell 0.8%. Germany’s DAX index fell 0.1%.
—Jenny Reed
Stock Market Trend: Novo Nordisk, Shell slide despite better-than-expected profits
Novo Nordisk share price.
Shares of pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk and oil major shell Although both companies beat first-quarter profit estimates on Thursday, early trading volumes were down.
Denmark’s Novo Nordisk fell 2.7% at 8:30 a.m. in London, despite strong sales growth for its weight loss drug Wegovy, and raised its sales growth outlook by 1 percentage point.
“They raised their annual guidance a little bit, which is good,” John Rountree, managing partner at pharma consulting firm Novasecta, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.” “In fact, in addition to continued growth and substantial growth, , with no other expectations.
“This has been extraordinary growth, and analysts now expect it to continue,” Rountree added.
Shell share price.
Oil giant Shell reported adjusted profits of $7.7 billion in the first three months of this year, down from $9.6 billion in the same period in 2023, and the company’s shares fell 1.1%.
The company also announced a $3.5 billion stock buyback program.
—Jenny Reed
U.S. crude falls below $80, hitting seven-week low as sluggish demand leads to inventory surge
A lone pumper in the middle of a large solar array just outside of Bakersfield in Kern County, California.
Earth Citizen | Universal Image Group | Getty Images
U.S. oil prices fell more than 3% on Wednesday, falling below $80 a barrel as sluggish demand led to a surge in crude inventories.
The West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract for June delivery fell $2.83, or 3.45%, to $79.10 a barrel, the lowest level in seven weeks. Brent July futures fell $2.77, or 3.21%, to $83.56 a barrel.
U.S. oil inventory levels have risen to their highest level since June 2023 as refineries process less crude oil as demand for gasoline weakens.
“Refiners are totally stuck on run rates and that’s because they don’t believe there’s demand there,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho Americas.
— Spencer Kimball
CNBC Pro: Citi just added these global stocks that are up more than 30% to its “Highest Conviction Ideas” list
Citi has just refreshed its list of Europe’s “most compelling ideas” and recommended specific trading strategies investors can pursue now.
These ideas (or stocks) are recorded on the investment bank’s focus list, which includes the names of analysts’ “strongest buying and selling ideas over the next 12 months.”
“The focus is on bottom-up thinking,” Citi analysts wrote, adding that the list also “highlights liquid names where investors can build positions.
The Citi Focus List has returned 3.4% in the trailing 12 months and 5.4% in the trailing three months.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the new stocks here.
— Amala Balakrishna
Fed keeps interest rates stable, takes steps to ease balance sheet reduction
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell announced that interest rates will remain unchanged at a press conference at the Federal Reserve’s William McChesney Martin Building in Washington, DC on May 1, 2024.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady on Wednesday and decided not to cut them in response to continued price pressures.
The central bank kept its short-term benchmark interest rate at a target range of 5.25% to 5%, a widely expected move. The federal funds rate has been at this level since July 2023.
The Federal Open Market Committee voted to ease the pace of reducing bond holdings on the Fed’s balance sheet, a move that could signal a gradual easing of monetary policy.
The S&P 500 fell slightly after the decision was announced.
—Sarah Min, Jeff Cox
European Markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open higher on Thursday.
British FTSE 100 The German stock index is expected to open 31 points higher at 8,148 German DAX Index France rises 79 points to 17,935 CAC Up 38 points to 7,969 points, Italy FTSE MIB It rose 135 points to 33,491 points, according to IG data.
European financial reports on Thursday include AXA, ArcelorMittal, Novo Nordisk, Orsted, Vestas, Hugo Boss, DSM Firmenich, Shell and Standard Chartered. Data releases include Swiss inflation data for April and Italian producer price data for March.
— Holly Elliot
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