Europe: Shares advance as chipmakers rally, earnings a bright spot

EUROPEAN shares bounced back on Thursday following three straight sessions of losses, buoyed by Richemont and Flutter’s upbeat results, while investors parsed the European Central Bank’s December policy meeting minutes.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended 0.6 per cent higher after falling to a six-week low in the previous session.

Supporting the benchmark index, shares of Richemont climbed 10.4 per cent after the Cartier jewellery owner’s third-quarter sales exceeded forecasts after a revenue jump in China.

Other luxury stocks, including LVMH and Kering, added 2.5 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively, boosting the personal and household good index 1.3 per cent.

Watches of Switzerland slumped 36.7 per cent, logging its biggest single-day percentage drop yet after the luxury retailer cut its annual revenue and profit margin forecast.

ECB policymakers meeting last month appeared confident that inflation was heading back to target but saw risks that warranted steady policy and high borrowing costs, the accounts of the December policy meeting showed.

“If we look at the minutes from the ECB, a couple of points that stand out are the acknowledgment of better than expected inflation data and an element of caution related to wages,” said Georgios Leontaris, CIO - Switzerland and EMEA at HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth in Geneva, Switzerland.

“Wages are still a little bit elevated, not just in Europe, in the UK and the US also, but clearly, it was that wages element that perhaps prevented the ECB governing council to give more credence on cuts in the December meeting.”

The recent remarks from policymakers to manage market expectations have caused traders to scale back rate-cut bets, with the first cut now being priced in for April instead of March.

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US: Stocks jump on tech rebound

The focus has shifted to the ECB’s January policy decision, with the bank entering its quiet period before next week’s meeting.

Among corporate updates, online betting giant Flutter jumped 15.3 per cent after analysts said fourth-quarter market share gains and stronger-than-expected win margins in the fast growing US market augured well for 2024.

Flutter’s shares lifted the travel and leisure index up 5.2 per cent, while Irish stocks advanced 3.9 per cent, logging their best single day performance in over a year.

The food and beverages index was a drag, down 0.5 per cent, led by a 1.8 per cent fall in Campari after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the Italian spirits maker to “underperform” from “sector perform” over concerns of volatility in recent quarterly results.

The technology sector, which houses the bulk of Europe’s chipmaker companies, rose 2.9 per cent, tracking positive quarterly results from Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC. AFP