European markets advanced on Thursday, kicking off the second half of 2021 on a positive note as investors anticipate the continent’s economic recovery.
TICKER COMPANY NAME PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME
.FTSE FTSE 100 FTSE 7122.43 84.96 1.21 39813062
.GDAXI DAX DAX 15701.93 170.89 1.10 5290887
.FCHI CAC 40 Index CAC 6587.43 79.60 1.22 5837733
The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed 1% in early trade, with travel and leisure stocks adding 1.8% to lead gains as all sectors and major bourses entered positive territory.
The European blue chip index closed out its fifth straight positive month on Wednesday, and started the day up 13.49% year-to-date.
The optimism in Europe diverges from the overnight trend in Asia-Pacific, where markets pulled back as a private survey showed Chinese factory activity growth slowing in June. Asian markets are also being weighed down by concerns about a rise in coronavirus infections and fresh lockdowns in the region.
Stateside, stock futures were modestly higher in early premarket trade on Thursday after the S&P 500 also closed out a fifth consecutive month of gains to close at another new record.
Global investors will have an eye on the latest weekly jobless claims data out of the U.S. at 1:30 p.m. London time on Thursday, with economists polled by Dow Jones expecting initial unemployment claims to have totaled 390,000 last week.
from CNBC Pro:
As ESG investing gains traction, RBC picks 10 under-the-radar stocks set to surge
Wall Street banks see oil prices spiking ‘well above’ $80 this year — here are their top stock picks
Goldman Sachs picks 12 global stocks to buy ahead of a surge in profit
This comes ahead of Friday’s closely-watched jobs report from the Labor Department. A Dow Jones survey puts consensus expectations at 683,000 new jobs added in June.
Back in Europe, June’s manufacturing PMI (purchasing managers’ index) readings are due out of the euro zone and U.K. on Thursday.
In corporate news, Reuters has reported, citing three sources, that Credit Suisse is considering a reversal of the regional distribution of its private banking division, in favor of a centralized management structure that will enable the scandal-ridden lender to maintain tighter controls on its operations.
Meanwhile Renault on Wednesday revealed ambitious plans for its electric vehicles, incorporating affordable electric versions of some of its classic small cars as the French automaker looks to keep pace with Volkswagen in the European EV space.
Stocks on the move
In terms of individual share price action, Danish energy company Orsted added more than 5% in early trade after securing an offshore contract in New Jersey.
Sodexo shares climbed 4.4% after the French catering group hiked its second-half revenue and profit margin guidance and beat quarterly sales expectations.
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, Swedish retailer H&M slipped 3.7% after its quarterly earnings report, despite swinging back into a pre-tax profit and increasing sales.
