European Shares Mixed With Focus On Earnings

(RTTNews) - European stocks traded mixed on Thursday as a disappointing earnings report from Facebook parent Meta Platforms gave way to caution ahead of earnings results from some of biggest and most important growth and tech companies in the U.S.

U.K. stocks outperformed on the back of strong earnings reports and news of a takeover approach for Anglo American.

The pan European STOXX 600 slipped 0.1 percent to 504.92 after declining 0.4 percent on Wednesday.

The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both dropped around half a percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 jumped 0.6 percent.

Deutsche Bank shares fell 1.6 percent despite the German lender posting better-than-expected profit growth in the first quarter amid an ongoing recovery in its investment banking unit.

Online takeaway food company Delivery Hero surged 10 percent after reporting strong Q1 results and raising its FY24 revenue outlook.

Food delivery company HelloFresh gained 2 percent after confirming its FY24 outlook. French spirits maker Pernod Ricard tumbled 3 percent after reporting worse than expected third quarter sales.

Software maker Dassault Systemes declined 4.7 percent despite reporting solid first-quarter results and backing guidance.

Sanofi surged 4.4 percent. The pharmaceutical giant reiterated its outlook for 2024 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to decrease by a low single-digit percentage, excluding currency fluctuations.

Lender BNP Paribas edged up slightly after beating first-quarter profit forecasts.

Barclays surged 4.2 percent in London after the lender reported a smaller-than-expected drop in first-quarter profit.

Unilever rallied 5.3 percent. The consumer goods giant beat first-quarter sales forecasts and kept its full-year guidance for underlying sales growth within its multi-year range of 3-5 percent.

Anglo American soared 12.5 percent after mining giant BHP Group proposed a takeover of the rival in a deal that seeks to create world's biggest copper miner with around 10 percent of global output.

Housebuilder Persimmon rose about 1 percent after reaffirming its annual home-build targets.

Nestle lost 3.4 percent after the Swiss food and drinks giant missed first-quarter organic sales growth estimates.

In economic releases, German consumer confidence is set to rise again in May, survey conducted by the market research group GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) showed earlier today.

The forward-looking consumer sentiment index rose to -24.2 in May from revised -27.3 in April. The reading was expected to rise moderately to -25.9.

France's manufacturing confidence weakened in April largely due to the worsening order books, monthly survey results from the statistical office INSEE revealed.

The manufacturing confidence index fell more-than-expected to 100 in April from upwardly revised 103 in March. The reading was seen at 102.