European shares edge higher as SocGen weighs on banks after results (updated)
03/11/2017 10:00
* STOXX 600 up 0.2 pct
* Germany's DAX hits record high
* Air France, Altice, SocGen fall after updates
* Results drive shares in Schibsted
(Adds detail and quotes, updates prices)
By Kit Rees
LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - European shares crept higher on
Friday on firmer tech stocks and carmakers, though gains were
limited as earnings weighed on shares in French bank Societe
Generale SOGN.PA and Dutch telecoms firms Altice ATCA.AS .
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX index was up 0.2
percent, set for its second week of gains in a row, while
Germany's DAX .GDAXI hit a record high, up 0.4 percent.
Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE built on the previous session's
gains following the Bank of England's first rate hike in more
than a decade, up 0.3 percent.
Friday was another busy day of earnings, with the banking
sector in focus. Societe Generale fell 3 percent after the
French bank reported third quarter earnings which included a 15
percent slump at its investment banking arm. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1N90NJ
Weak trading has been an issue across the sector, with peer
BNP Paribas BNPP.PA dropping earlier in the week on the back
of a slump in fixed income trading. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1N610Q
"These weaker results add pressure on (SocGen) to deliver a
substantial revamp at the investor day on 28 November, otherwise
it will become a value trap," analysts at Jefferies said in a
note.
Telecoms firm Altice was another big faller, down 10 percent
after issuing cautious full-year targets amidst slightly
weaker-than-expected third quarter results. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1N8860
Shares in Air France-KLM AIRF.PA reversed earlier gains to
fall 7.5 percent following comments from its finance chief after
its results. The airline's shares were suspended briefly but
resumed trading. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN1N90MJ urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1N88IV
Wind turbine maker Vestas Wind VWS.CO was the biggest
faller, down 1 percent, while Siemens Gamesa SGREN.MC also
fell 5.3 percent after the proposed U.S. tax reform bill
included cuts to renewable energy tax credits. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1N91PX
On the positive side, Norwegian consumer publishing firm
Schibsted SBSTA.OL surged 18.5 percent to the top of the STOXX
after its results came in above forecast. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN1N908N
France's Renault RENA.PA rose 5 percent, leading European
autos .SXAP after the French government began the sale of its
4.73 percent stake in the carmaker. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1N888D
Tech stocks were also in focus after U.S. giant Apple
AAPL.O reported better-than-expected earnings, boosting shares
in suppliers Dialog Semiconductor DLGS.DE 3.4 percent and AMS
AMS.S 2.2 percent. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1N8668
More than half of MSCI Europe companies have reported third
quarter earnings, of which 67 percent have either met or beaten
analysts' expectations, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S
data.
"Those (smaller beats) and the big beats, once you add them
all together, makes it actually a fairly good earnings season,
hence why markets are where they are," Mike van Dulken, head of
research at Accendo Markets, said.
"We're seeing the ECB strike a dovish tone, we've seen the
Bank of England clearly deliver a more dovish message on less
hikes over a longer term, the Fed nomination (is) very much
being seen as a steady as she goes so yes, rates are higher ...
but it's still a very much accommodative environment for a good
while longer," van Dulken added.
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Major European Indexes YTD Performance http://reut.rs/2zblpzX
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(Reporting by Kit Rees, editing by Danilo Masoni and Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)
((kit.rees@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 2784;))
Keywords: EUROPE STOCKS/