European stocks slip as Barclays, Hermes disappoint; oil climbs

THE European Stoxx 600 dropped on Thursday (Oct 22), nearly giving back all of the prior session’s gains as investors weighed a heavy slate of earnings reports, while higher oil prices further dampened risk appetite.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index declined 0.84 per cent to 639.05 points by 0712 GMT, after gaining over 0.9 per cent on Wednesday.

Investors are turning to earnings to position themselves against the backdrop of political uncertainty and protests in France.

Kicking off European bank earnings, Barclays fell 2.5 per cent after reporting third-quarter profit before tax of £2.3 billion (US$3.08 billion), missing company-compiled estimates of £2.4 billion.

The banking index fell the most at 2.1 per cent.

Hermes fell 6.7 per cent after the Birkin bag maker posted slightly weaker third-quarter revenue than analysts expected.

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Nestle added 2.3 per cent after reporting better-than-expected organic sales growth for the third quarter.

Adding another layer of caution on Thursday, oil prices climbed over 2 per cent after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked broader escalation concerns and disruption of supplies.

Energy-dependent Europe has been hit by soaring energy costs, which has fed price pressures and weighed on the broader stock index. REUTERS