Reuters Insider - Reuters Today: European stocks open lower on China concerns, earnings

TA

16/07/2020 15:48

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Source: Reuters Insider

Description: European stock indices opened lower on Thursday despite
better-than-expected GDP numbers out of China. Investors are concerned about
mounting tensions between the U.S. and China, while companies report earnings
hit by worldwide lockdowns. In the UK, private payrolls shrank by 649,000 in
the three months to June, although the pace of the decline is slowing.
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Video Transcript:

Our top story: Britain’s jobless rate unexpectedly held at 3.9% in the
three months to May, although the headline figure should be taken with caution
as it does not reflect the millions of workers on furlough during lockdown or
those that left employment temporarily due to COVID-19. The ONS said
separately that the number of employees on company payrolls fell by 649,000 in
the three months to June but that the pace of the decline was slowing. While
the British Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with TotaLJobs, said one
third of companies it surveyed as part of its quarterly recruitment outlook
expect to cut jobs in the next three months. The Lancet medical journal says
it will publish human trial data on a vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca
and Oxford University on Monday. The statement by the journal came after media
reported the data would be published today. The vaccine is already in
large-scale Phase Three human trials, but the developers have yet to publish
phase one results that would show whether it is safe and whether or not it
induces an immune response. Let’s take a look at how European equity
markets are doing in the first hour of trading, following the strong gains
they saw yesterday. Markets globally have been weighed down by concerns
worsening US-China relations, and the economic cost of a resurgence in
coronavirus infections that is prompting some governments to reimpose
containment measures. But there was some good news that China’s economy
returned to growth in the second quarter, up 3.2%; although domestic
consumption and investment remained weak. Turning to oil markets, where Brent
and WTI are coming off the gains they saw on Wednesday. That’s when OPEC
and its partner nations agreed to scale back oil production cuts as the global
economy slowly recovers from the pandemic. Also, data showed US inventories
fell much more than expected last week. Among companies reporting this
morning, one of the world’s biggest recruiting companies Hays says fees
dropped 34% in the last quarter and warned on its annual profit as companies
around the world froze hiring during lockdowns. It said full year profit would
fall by up to 47% in 2020. Global mining company Anglo American stuck to its
full-year guidance on metal production including copper, as it posted lower
second quarter output due to coronavirus lockdowns. France’s Alstom
reported a 27% drop in sales as the train maker said coronavirus hit both
sales of rolling stock and its services division. It said its average annual
growth rate of 5% in the five years to 2023 would only be slightly affected by
COVID-19. And luxury group Richemont says it has seen unprecedented levels of
disruption from the pandemic in the three months to June, leading its sales to
almost halve to EUR1.99 billion. The owner of the Cartier brand gave no
details on current trading or its outlook. And finally, before we go, the
British street artist Banksy posted this video on his Instagram account. He
can be seen in personal protective equipment on the London underground
spraying his signature rat onto the walls of the carriage along with a sign
saying “If you don’t mask, you don’t get.” I’m Craig
Moseley and that is Reuters Today