European stocks rise ahead of central bank meetings; AB Inbev impresses
European equity indices rose Thursday, as investors digested a plethora of quarterly corporate earnings ahead of a series of central bank interest rate decisions, including from the Bank of England, News.az reports citing Xinhua.
At 03:15 ET (07:15 GMT), the DAX index in Germany climbed 0.8%, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.5% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.1%.
Trade deals coming?
Sentiment received a boost Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump posted that he will hold a press conference today about a trade deal with a major trading rival - which the New York Times (NYSE:NYT) has reported as being Britain.
This would be the first of a large number of trade deals that Trump claims to have made but have yet to come to the light, with the U.S. president having flagged last week "potential deals" with South Korea, Japan, and India.
This has increased hopes that Trump’s tariff agenda can be reined in, with talks between Washington and Beijing set to take place this weekend.
Central bank parade
Monetary policy announcements are due from central banks today from Riksbank, Norges Bank and Bank of England on Thursday, with the latter widely expected to cut interest rates.
The U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged as widely expected on Wednesday, where it has been since December.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned in his press conference that if the significant tariff hikes already announced remain at current levels, they could lead to a slowdown in economic growth and an uptick in long-term inflation.
AB InBev reports hefty rise in Q1 profit
There are more quarterly earnings for investors to digest in Europe this session.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (EBR:ABI) reported a 7.9% rise in first-quarter operating profit, beating analysts’ estimate by more than double, as the beer brewer grew its margin despite a fall in sales volumes.
Siemens (ETR:SIEGn) Energy (ETR:ENR1n) raised its full-year outlook after delivering one of its strongest quarters on record, driven by surging electricity demand, record-high orders and double-digit revenue growth.
Danish shipping group AP Moeller-Maersk (CSE:MAERSKb) reported first-quarter operating profit above expectations and kept its full-year profit guidance unchanged.
German sportswear brand Puma (OTC:PMMAF) reported a decline in first-quarter profit margin and flat first-quarter sales as the company cut costs in an attempt to turn its performance around.
InterContinental Hotels (LON:IHG) said it is on track to meet the full-year consensus profit estimate, defying industry peers’ forecast warnings over waning economic and consumer sentiment in the U.S.
Crude rises ahead of upcoming trade talks
Oil prices rose Thursday, supported by hopes that upcoming talks between the U.S. and China will lead to a deal between the two largest crude consumers in the world.
At 03:15 ET, Brent futures climbed 0.3% to $61.30 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.4% to $58.30 a barrel.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with China’s top economic official over the weekend in Switzerland for negotiations over a trade war that is disrupting the global economy.
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