European Stocks Close On Firm Note As Investors Cheer Earnings, Economic Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Thursday with investors cheering some strong earnings updates, including U.S. tech major NVIDIA, which reported strong quarterly results and upbeat revenue guidance, in addition to digesting European and U.S. economic data.

European Central Bank policymakers agreed in their meeting late January that it was premature to discuss interest rate cuts now which could derail the return of inflation to the 2% target, minutes of the policy session held on January 24-25 showed.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.82%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.29%, Germany's DAX surged 1.47% and France's CAC 40 ended 1.27% up. Switzerland's SMI ended down 0.37%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Finland, Iceland and Portugal ended weak, while Greece settled flat.

In the UK market, Beazley soared 9%. Rolls-Royce Holdings climbed nearly 8.5%. The engineering firm forecast improved performance in 2024 after annual profit more than doubled last year.

Anglo American Plc gained 3%. The mining giant said it would buy and integrate Vale SA's Serpentina project with its adjacent Minas-Rio mine in Brazil.

Scottish Mortgage, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Intertek, RightMove, The Sage Group, Ashtead and ICP gained 2 to 4.5%.

Mondi, Flutter Entertainment, Halma, Entain, DS Smith and Antofagasta also posted strong gains.

WPP dropped more than 6% despite delivering full-year results largely in line with expectations. Lloyds Banking rallied sharply after reporting a significant increase in annual profit, but failed to retain gains and ended 1.7% down.

Endeavour ended 4.7% down, and Tesco ended nearly 3% down. Land Securities, J Sainsbury, SSE, Glencore, Marks & Spencer, Unilever, Severn Trent, Next and Berkeley Holdings lost 1 to 2.5%.

In the German market, Covestro surged 4.7%. Mercedes-Benz gained 4.7% after lifting dividend and forecasting stable revenues in FY24.

Adidas climbed 3.5%, while SAP, Sartorius, Volkswagen, Merck, Infineon, Deutsche Bank and Siemens Healthineers gained 2 to 3.5%.

Brenntag, Allianz, Siemens, Munich RE, Qiagen, Hannover Rueck, Commerzbank and BMW ended higher by 1 to 2%.

HeidelbergCement ended 3.3% down. MTU Aero Engines settled lower by 3.1%. Fresenius, E.ON and Zalando also ended notably lower.

In Paris, STMicroElectronics surged nearly 3%. ENGIE gained 1.5% after raising its 2024 financial guidance.

Stellantis gained about 3%. AXA climbed 2.8%, while LVMH, Schneider Electric, Hermes International, Capgemini, Saint Gobain, Renault, Sanofi, L'Oreal, Dassault Systemes and Essilor gained 1.4 to 2.3%.

On the economic front, provisional survey data from S&P Global showed that Eurozone private sector shrank at the slowest pace in eight months in February. The flash composite output index posted 48.9 in February, up from 47.9 in the previous month.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to a seven-month high of 50.0 from 48.4 a month ago while the manufacturing PMI fell to 46.1 from 46.6 a month ago.

"There is a glimmer of hope as the eurozone inches towards recover", Hamburg Commercial Bank Economist Norman Liebke said.

France's private sector activity contracted at a slower pace in February, flash survey data from S&P Global showed. The composite output index rose to a nine-month high of 47.7 in February from 44.6 in January.

Germany's private sector posted another sharp contraction in February, flash data compiled by S&P Global showed. The composite output index dropped to a four-month low of 46.1 in February from 47.0 in January. The expected reading was 47.5.

The UK private sector grew at the fastest pace in nine months in February, underpinned by another strong upturn in the services activity, flash survey results from S&P Global showed. The composite output index rose to 53.3 in February, while the score was expected to remain unchanged at 52.9.

French manufacturers' confidence improved more-than expected and returned to its long-term average in February, monthly data from the statistical office INSEE revealed. The manufacturing sentiment index rose to a 4-month high of 100 in February from 98 in the previous month. Economists had expected confidence to increase to 99.