Investing.com – 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 in Germany traded 0.1% higher, the in France gained 0.2%, while the 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 , 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 also meets on Thursday, and is also expected to lower rates by 25 bps, while the 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 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:) 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:) 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:) 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:) 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:) 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 contract gained 0.7% to $75.63 per barrel, while futures (WTI) traded 0.9% higher at $72.12 per barrel.
Both benchmarks had registered gains of over 2% on Monday (NASDAQ:) 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.
