Newscasts - Europe Today: European stocks lack direction after China's stimulus plans underwhelm

Mulberry

14/10/2024 11:00

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Source: 'Reuters - Business videos'

Description: Europe's main indices were little changed in early trade after
China's stimulus plans failed to inspire confidence. The focus for investors
this week will be corporate earnings and the ECB meeting on Thursday.
Short Link: https://refini.tv/3BJfNyS

Video Transcript:

European stocks lacked direction after China's stimulus update underwhelms
investors. Welcome to Europe Today. I'm Ramzan Karmali. Well, let's kick off
with a look at the markets and European stocks were little changed in early
trade, after China's stimulus plans failed to inspire confidence. The focus
for many this week will be corporate earnings, and the ECB meeting on
Thursday. The CAC 40 was weighed down by luxury brands exposed to China, while
British betting firms all fell heavily after a media report said the UK
government is considering doubling taxes on online casinos and bookmakers.
Turning to the oil markets now and prices on Monday wiped out nearly all of
last week's gains, as worries over demand from the world's biggest crude
importer, China, grew. The country's deflationary pressures worsened in
September, and a Saturday press conference left investors guessing about the
overall size of a stimulus package intended to revive its fortunes. After
Friday's closing bell, Fitch revised France's outlook to negative from stable.
The credit ratings agency cited increases in fiscal policy and political
risks. Though it did maintain France’s AA- rating, it warned about a
steep rise in government debt towards 118.5% of GDP by 2028. The French
government presented a 2025 budget on Thursday. It included plans to reduce
the hole in public finances by EUR60 billion through spending cuts and tax
hikes focused on the wealthy and big companies. Mulberry's top investor
Chalice has declined to sell shares in the company to Frasers. The
announcement from the UK handbag-maker comes after Mike Ashley's sportswear
retailer sweetened its takeover bid. With its latest proposal, Frasers, best
known for its sports-direct brand values Mulberry at GBP111 million. Mulberry
shares jumped 16% as it also said, it's still working on a deal with Frasers.
British recruiter PageGroup forecasts its annual profit in line with
expectations. That's despite posting a drop in net fees in Q3. Like rival Hays
last week, it's seen firms holding back from hiring amid uncertainty around
the economic outlook. And DP World is to go ahead with its GBP1 billion
investment in its London Gateway port. The British government made this update
at the weekend after Sky News reported on Friday that the port and logistics
firm had put its planned investment on hold after two ministers criticized
practices as its subsidiary P&O Ferries. The government is holding a major
investor conference this week in London. And that's it from Europe Today