European stocks struggle for direction as US starts voting

European stock markets have struggled for direction as investors focused on the US presidential election, with the outcome seen as extremely uncertain. 

At 10:00 ET (15:00 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.1% higher, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.2%, while the FTSE 100 in the U.K. dropped 0.3%. US election in focus

European equities have been unable to post any significant moves Tuesday as investors reined in risk taking and settled in to wait and see the outcome of a US presidential election which has seen assassination attempts on Donald Trump and the swap of Kamala Harris for Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate.

Polling has tended to point to an extremely close contest in an election which could have far-reaching consequences for European companies given Trump’s proposed policies of protectionist tariffs.

Also limiting trade is the proximity to the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting , which concludes on Thursday. The market widely expects the policymakers to agree to a rate cut of 25 basis points, following the half-point reduction in September.

Back in Europe, the Bank of England also meets on Thursday, and is also expected to lower rates by 25 bps, while the Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates steady earlier Tuesday, as expected, and said monetary policy will remain restrictive due to concerns over sticky inflation. Schroders slumps as outflows soar

The quarterly earnings season has hit its halfway point, with around 50% of the STOXX 600 having reported results.

Europe's third-quarter earnings have mostly topped markets' low expectations and investors are rewarding beats more handsomely than they have in years, even though weak China demand is a cause for caution.

Schroders (LON:SDR ) stock slumped over 13% after the UK wealth manager warned that net outflows in the three months to end September 2024 were £2.3 billion.

Hugo Boss (ETR:BOSSn ) stock slumped over 5% after the luxury retailer flagged declines in the important Asia-Pacific region in the third quarter, even as its third-quarter operating profit slightly beat market expectations.

AB Foods (LON:ABF ) stock rose 1% after the Primark owner reported a hefty rise in annual profits, driven by revenues growth in its retail and foods businesses.

ASOS (LON:ASOS ) stock fell 7% after the fashion retailer posted another big loss with its full-year results, even as chief executive José Antonio Ramos Calamonte backed progress in the company’s turnaround.

Vestas Wind Systems (CSE:VWS ) stock dropped over 11% after the wind turbine manufacturer reported underwhelming third-quarter results that missed profit expectations across both its Power Solutions and Service divisions.  Crude prices continue to gain 

Oil prices rose Tuesday, adding to the previous session’s strong gains, as traders began to focus on the US presidential election. 

By 10:00 ET, the Brent contract gained 0.7% to $75.63 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 0.9% higher at $72.12 per barrel.

Both benchmarks had registered gains of over 2% on Monday (NASDAQ:MNDY ) after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a group known as OPEC+, announced that it will again delay a planned output hike of 180,000 barrels per day by at least a month.

This was the second time OPEC+ has extended its 2.2 million bpd cut, illustrating how concerned the producing countries are about global demand.

 

Source: Investing.com