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EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: PLENTY OF EARNINGS AND THEN THE BIG ONE
It should be mostly about earnings on Wednesday, unless we have some new, bonkers, AI-driven move, but the really big news won't come until after the U.S. close, when Nvidia reports, and then we might get both.
The U.S. will have all that excitement, but, before then, Wednesday's early morning results suggest the drivers of last year's big rally in European stocks, banks and defence, might still have a bit of juice left.
U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday night yielded no more clarity on his tariff policies, or on his plans for Iran.
HSBC HSBA.L lifted a key earnings target after its annual profit beat expectations, sending its Hong Kong shares 0005.HK up around 4%.
Meanwhile, Italy's Leonardo LDOF.MI also posted results above its financial targets.
Futures on Europe's EURO STOXX 50 are up 0.15% STXEc1 and FTSE futures FFIc1 are outperforming, up 0.36%, helped by HSBC as well as the price of oil and metals continuing to grind higher. O/R MET/L
In other earnings news, Heidelberg Materials, HEIG.DE the world's second-largest cement maker, said it expects operating profit to rise as construction sector stabilises, and Diageo DGE.L lowered its annual sales forecast for the second time in almost four months and cut its dividend.
So there is plenty to keep everyone busy in Europe until Nvidia, the world's most valuable firm, reports its results. Analysts say options positioning suggests an average move of 4.8% in the shares in either direction after the results.
(Alun John)
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