(Bloomberg) — European stocks erased earlier losses as hopes of renewed negotiations between the US and Iran to end their war offset disappointing earnings from benchmark heavyweight HSBC Holdings Plc.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was 0.2% higher by 11:01 a.m. in London. Construction shares as well as miners outperformed, while personal care and energy stocks were among the biggest laggards. Brent crude fell 1% to trade at $115 a barrel after Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called for pursuing the conditions set out by Iranian officials with the aim of ending the war.
In individual stock moves, HSBC fell 6.5% after its earnings fell short of estimates in the third quarter and the lender kept its outlook for the rest of year unchanged. Porsche AG advanced 4.5% after profitability held up despite another sharp decline in vehicle sales. Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc fell 4.5% after cutting its sales forecast as supply constraints hit sales of cleaning products in the US and its vitamin brands suffered a setback in China.
Investors have been following Europe’s third-quarter earnings season for clues on whether a range of headwinds from higher energy prices to political instability will drag on corporate profits. The region’s benchmark index has been trading below its record high reached in August.
“So far earnings season has been OK, I wouldn’t say that it helped reshaping the narrative for European equities just yet,” said Andrea Gabellone, head of global equities at KBC Securities. “The positive is that earnings’ surprise breadth is elevated.”
Here’s what market strategists are saying:
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