Live Markets: Before the bell: Europe steady, BoE eyed, and earnings
06/11/2025 07:53
Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPE STEADY, BOE EYED, AND EARNINGS A positive finish on Wall Street, driven by upbeat jobs data, and overnight gains in Asia set European shares up for a steady open on Thursday, even as concerns remained that stretched tech valuations make markets vulnerable to a correction. In the UK, the attention turned to the Bank of England, which faces a knife-edge decision at 1200 GMT on whether to cut rates ahead of a long-awaited budget later this month. Most economist, however, expect the central bank to hold steady. Futures on the Euro STOXX .STOXX50E, DAX .GDAXI and FTSE .FTSE were broadly unchanged after valuation jitters earlier this week pushed the regional benchmark .STOXX to more than two-week lows. Nasdaq futures edged up 0.2%, while early Frankfurt trading pointed to a drop in Qualcomm QCOM.O shares, despite the chipmaker's forecast beating Wall Street expectations. A potential loss of business next year from Samsung weighed on sentiment. "The weather remains cloudy, bulls are hesitant, but the dip-buyers are never far away," wrote Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst at Swissquote. In Europe, it was another heavy earnings day. Here are some of the highlights: Commerzbank CBKG.DE profit unexpectedly falls 8% as higher tax rates, costs weigh AstraZeneca AZN.L beats third-quarter expectations, maintains outlook Volvo Cars VOLCARb.ST targets operating profit margin above 8% in strategy revamp Zalando ZALG.DE reports higher growth in third quarter, bets on sports Engie's ENGIE.PA nine-month earnings down 11% on lower power, gas sales Maersk MAERSKb.CO lifts full-year profit guidance range, posts Q3 profit above forecast Rheinmetall RHMG.DE consolidated sales rise 20% in first nine months Eyes also remained on Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO after reports that Pfizer PFE.N plans to sweeten its Metsera MTSR.O bid after a judge denied its request to block the Danish drugmakers's $10 billion offer for the biotech company. (Danilo Masoni) ***** EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS: SPOTLIGHT ON KNIFE-EDGE BOE DECISION CLICK HERE