(Bloomberg) — European stocks were subdued after rebounding on Wednesday, as investors parsed a mixed batch of earnings from the likes of Nestle SA and Airbus SE.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed at 8:15 a.m. in London. The food and beverage as well as media sectors led gains while mining shares were among the biggest laggards.
Nestle gained 4% after it said sales growth would likely quicken this year under its new chief executive officer. Air France-KLM rose 9.4% as it reported better-than-expected earnings and remained upbeat about the lucrative North Atlantic routes.
Airbus dropped 4.8% and was the biggest drag on the Stoxx 600 as it said the lack of reliable engine supplies for its A320 family of jets is holding back production and aircraft deliveries.
Europe’s benchmark index is heading for an eighth consecutive monthly gain, marking its longest winning streak since 2013. While worries about disruption from artificial intelligence have roiled some regional sectors, the Stoxx 600 is still outperforming US peers and hit a record on Wednesday.
“We’re starting to see people stepping out of intangible assets because of fear of AI disruption and into some of the more unloved sectors like telecoms, utilities and consumer staples,” said Richard Saldanha, global equity fund manager at Aviva Investors.
Meanwhile, the corporate earnings season has been slightly ahead of expectations. MSCI Europe companies have posted a 3.6% increase in fourth-quarter profits, compared with analyst estimates of 1.3%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence.
Elsewhere, Rio Tinto Group fell 3.2% as it posted flat full-year profit, with improvements in copper and aluminum failing to offset a combination of one-off restructuring costs, US tariffs and China’s drag on its key iron ore unit.
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–With assistance from Sagarika Jaisinghani and Michael Msika.
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