Live Markets: Before the bell: Europe slips as bond market jitters persist
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BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPE SLIPS AS BOND MARKET JITTERS PERSIST
European shares looked set for a weaker start on Thursday as sentiment remained fragile, even after strong demand at a US Treasury auction briefly eased pressure on bond markets and helped Wall Street recover from session lows.
Oil prices remained volatile and resumed their climb in Asia after a steadier close on Wednesday, while benchmark US Treasury yields rose again, though remained below recent 24-year peaks. Asian shares fell overnight and Wall Street futures traded slightly lower.
Euro STOXX 50 .STOXX50E, DAX .GDAXI and FTSE .FTSE futures were down about 0.7%, pointing to further losses after Wednesday's bank-led selloff.
With minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showing policymakers were divided over the rationale for raising rates, attention turns back to Europe, where investors will parse the European Central Bank's latest meeting accounts.
Several ECB and Fed officials are due to speak later in the day, alongside Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.
It's a big day for tech earnings in Asia.
Blockbuster earnings from Samsung Electronics 005930.KS were not enough to lift its shares. The world's largest memory-chip maker forecast quarterly operating profit above 80 trillion won ($59 billion), nearly nine times higher than a year earlier, driven by robust demand for AI-related memory chips.
TSMC 2330.TW, the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported record quarterly revenue of around $46.7 billion, beating forecast and rising 50% due to surging AI demand.
In Europe, premarket trading pointed to gains for energy stocks as Brent crude approached $103 a barrel, while banks could remain under pressure as investors assess the implications of rising sovereign borrowing costs.
EuroSTOXX50 constituent Argenx ARGX.BR was called 10% lower after discontinuing a Sjögren's disease trial after an analysis showed it was unlikely to meet its primary endpoint.
(Danilo Masoni)
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