(Bloomberg) — European stocks rose on a busy day for corporate earnings, with growing optimism that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates this year.
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The Stoxx 600 index rose 0.6% as UBS Group AG rose more than 6% after returning to profit and UniCredit SpA climbed on better-than-expected results. U.S. futures were little changed, while a gauge of Asian stocks headed for their longest winning streak since February. Ten-year Treasury bonds extended their advance, with the yield falling three basis points to 4.46%.
Stock markets are buoyant as investors become more optimistic about the timing of potential Fed rate cuts following last week’s weak U.S. jobs data. There are signs of continued weakness in Europe’s largest economy as German factory orders fell unexpectedly in March.
German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG cut its sales forecast and signaled that demand from the automotive industry remains weak.
“One part of European equities where we’re not so bullish – we’re actually underweight – is the auto sector,” says Beata Manthey, head of European equity strategy at Citigroup Inc. “We’re very concerned about trade tensions.”
Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Fed, is among the officials scheduled to speak later Tuesday.
Oil prices rose for a second day amid tensions in the Middle East as Israel rejected a Gaza ceasefire proposal.
Important events this week:
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Eurozone retail sales, Tuesday
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Walt Disney winning numbers on Tuesday
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Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari speaks Tuesday
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Toyota results, Wednesday
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Fed Governor Lisa Cook speaks on Wednesday
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The Bank of Japan will release a summary of opinions from its April policy meeting on Thursday
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China trade, Thursday
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British BOE interest rate decision, Thursday
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Initial jobless claims in the US, Thursday
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British industrial production, GDP, Friday
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ECB publishes report on April monetary policy meeting on Friday
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BOE chief economist Huw Pill speaks on Friday
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University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment, Friday
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Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee speaks Friday
Some of the key moves in the markets:
Shares
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The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.6% at 9:21 a.m. London time
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S&P 500 futures were little changed
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Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1%
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The futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average hardly changed
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The MSCI Asia Pacific index rose 0.3%
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The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.1%
Currencies
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The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
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The euro remained little changed at $1.0760
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The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 154.15 per dollar
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The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2189 per dollar
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The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2535
Cryptocurrencies
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Bitcoin rose 1.3% to $64,139.41
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Ether rose 0.8% to $3,100.51
Tie up
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The 10-year Treasury yield fell three basis points to 4.46%
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The 10-year German government bond yield fell three basis points to 2.44%
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The 10-year UK government bond yield fell seven basis points to 4.15%
raw materials
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Brent crude rose 0.3% to $83.56 a barrel
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Spot gold fell 0.4% to $2,315.63 an ounce
This story was produced with support from Bloomberg Automation.
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