Europe: Stocks weighed down by UBS's Archegos hit, BP surges

[BENGALURU] European stocks were little changed on Tuesday following earnings from blue-chip companies such as HSBC and BP, while UBS become the latest bank to disclose a hit from dealing with US investment firm Archegos.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index slipped 0.01 per cent by 7.07am GMT, with gains in oil and gas stocks offsetting losses in financial services firms.

UK's FTSE 100 rose slightly as oil major BP jumped 2.6 per cent after its first-quarter profit soared due to stronger oil prices and bumper revenue from natural gas trading.

Asia-focused lender HSBC gained 0.9 per cent after it reported an upbeat quarterly profit as successful vaccine rollouts in key markets promised a brighter economic outlook.

However, UBS fell 3.5 per cent as it took an unexpected US$774 million hit from Archegos, taking the shine off a forecast-beating 14 per cent rise in quarterly net profit.

Danish freight forwarder DSV Panalpina jumped 7.7 per cent to the top of Stoxx 600 after it agreed to buy the logistics division of Kuwait's Agility Public Warehousing in a deal worth US$4.1 billion.

REUTERS