European markets close lower as oil and gas dips; ASML shares drop 15% after early earnings release

Share this on: Hanoi, Oct 16 2024 - 08:17 AM

European stocks closed lower Tuesday afternoon, as investors monitored earnings and a sharp fall in oil prices and tech stocks.


The regional Stoxx 600 index ended 0.7% lower, with most major bourses ending in the red. Germany’s DAX bucked the trend, closing up 0.06%, having traded at a record high earlier in the session.

European sectors were spread between losses and gains, with media stocks adding 1.46% as oil and gas stocks retreated 3.24%, tracking the oil market lower.

Tech stocks shed 6.36%, led by losses of more than 15% for Dutch chip giant ASML.

In its earnings report, published a day earlier than expected, ASML said it expects net sales for 2025 to come in between 30 billion euros ($32.72 billion) and 35 billion euros, at the lower half of the range it had previously provided.

The stock ended the day down around 15.6%.

Telecoms stocks rose 1.97%, driven by Sweden’s Ericsson, which jumped 10.8%. The equipment manufacturer beat consensus earnings forecasts for the third quarter, despite a 4% fall in year-on-year sales.

British homebuilder Bellway, meanwhile, rose 8.3%, after posting year-end results in which it said it expected a “material increase in volume output” for the next financial year due to improved trading conditions.

Europe’s negative end to the trading day came as U.S. stocks also moved lower. Chip stocks stateside slid on the ASML news.

Investors stateside were also monitoring big bank earnings, with Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup all topping analyst estimates.

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed overnight, but regional chip stocks rose.

On the data front, the U.K.’s statistics agency said average wages excluding bonuses rose 4.9% year on year across June to August, cooling slightly from 5.1% in May to July and meeting the forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.

Earnings including bonuses hit a more than two-year low of 3.8%.

Analysts noted it was the last snapshot of wage pressures before the Bank of England next meets to decide monetary policy, and appeared suportive of a potential rate cut. Market pricing currently puts around an 83% probability on another 25-basis-point rate reduction in November.

Other releases included euro zone industrial production, German producer prices and a final French inflation print, which revised annual headine inflation on an EU-harmonized basis to 1.4% from 1.5%.



« Go Back

TRY FiinPro-X FREE FOR 14 DAYS

Get Free Trial Now