European stocks traded in a mixed manner Thursday, as investors digested following overnight weakness on Wall Street as well as more corporate earnings from senior companies ahead of policy meetings by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
At 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany dropped 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. fell 0.4%, while the CAC 40 in France gained 0.6%.
Subscribe to InvestingPro for more stock market analysis - get up to 50% off today Corporate earnings to the fore Global sentiment has been hit by concerns over the costs associated with the build up of artificial technology, resulting in a sharp sell-off in U.S. technology stocks overnight and losses on the main Asian indices earlier Thursday.
Alphabet said late Wednesday that capital expenditure could as much as double this year, in yet another aggressive spending ramp-up by the Google parent as it deepens investments to allay constraints on compute capacity and push ahead in the AI race.
That said, back in Europe, investors have been working their way through a plethora of quarterly earnings from some of the region’s largest companies.
Oil major Shell’s (LON:SHEL) adjusted earnings, its definition of net profit, reached $3.26 billion in the fourth quarter, a fall from $3.7 billion a year earlier and its weakest quarterly profit in nearly five years.
Maersk (CSE:MAERSKb) reported fourth-quarter operating profit broadly in line with expectations, but the Danish shipping giant warned that falling freight rates, compounded by ongoing industry challenges, would weigh on earnings in 2026.
BNP Paribas (EPA:BNPP) raised its 2028 profitability target after fourth-quarter profit surged 28%, with France’s largest bank betting that structural cost cuts and a favorable interest rate environment will accelerate earnings growth beyond its previous forecasts.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BME:BBVA) reported fourth-quarter net profit of €2.53 billion, up 4% from €2.43 billion a year earlier, as lending growth in Spain and Mexico offset higher loan-loss provisions at the lender.
Siemens Healthineers (ETR:SHLG) reported solid first-quarter results, as strong demand for imaging systems and cancer therapy equipment helped cushion weakness in the German medical technology company’s diagnostics business and offset pressure from currency movements.
ECB, BOE seen standing pat Away from the corporate sector, German industrial orders rose 7.8% in December, when compared with the previous month, ahead of expectations of a fall of 2.2%.
The European Central Bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 2% for the fifth straight meeting later in the day, but the sharp drop in eurozone inflation in January could raise concerns for policymakers.
Data released earlier this week showed that eurozone CPI inflation eased to 1.7% year-on-year in January, down from 1.9% in December.
The Bank of England is also seen maintaining its current interest rate of 3.75% later in the session, with analysts citing persistent inflation concerns despite signs of a weakening labor market.
