Europe midday: Stocks edge higher despite rising bond yields, oil prices
Sap AG
€167.18
14:00 19/04/24
Stocks are holding slightly higher amid a raft of corporate earnings reports in the States, with investor sentiment taking a slight hit from a negative response to US tech giant Alphabet's latest set of financials, which were released overnight.
DJ EURO STOXX 50
4,936.57
23:58 18/04/24
Xetra DAX
17,740.66
14:05 19/04/24
Investors were also keeping an eye on movements in government bond and crude oil markets.
On that note, Michael Hewson at CMC Markets UK commented: "Crude oil prices continue to be a cause for concern hitting a fresh three year high above $75, despite comments from Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh that there would be no need to extend the current pact of output freezes beyond this year.
"It is this move higher in crude oil prices, along with the rise in demand, that is helping fuel the recent rise in yields as well as the positive tone for equity markets, however if it continues too far we could start to see it act as a drag on equity markets, if prices along with yields start to move even higher."
As of 1315 BST, the benchmkark Stoxx 600 index was higher by 0.15% at 383.74, alongside a 0.18% advance for Germany's Dax to 12,548.73, and an advance of 0.02% for the Cac-40 to 5,439.53.
In parallel, front month Brent crude oil futures were up by 0.334% at $74.96 a barrel on the ICE, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was adding one basis point to 2.99%.
Against that backdrop, markets learned on Tuesday that business confidence in Germany and Italy had weakened more than expected in April, with the IFO institute saying of the German data that "high spirits" among the country's businessmen had "evaporated".
IFO's business confidence gauge dropped from a reading of 103.3 for March to 102.1 in April (consensus: 102.8), with a gauge of business expectations at its lowest ebb since August 2016.
On the corporate side of things, stock in Swedish fashion retailer Hennes&Mauritz was higher despite market chatter that the company might be preparing to slash its dividend payout for the first time ever.
SAP AG was an outperformer after the company nudged its forecast for full-year sales to as much as €25.3bn, versus a previous forecast for €25.1bn in sales.