European Stock-Index Futures Little Changed Amid Earnings
European stock-index futures were little changed, after the Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed yesterday to its highest level in more than six years, as investors weighed corporate earnings. U.S. index futures and Asian shares were also little changed.
Publicis Groupe SA (PUB) may be active after abandoning a plan with Omnicom Group Inc. to create the world’s largest advertising company. Telefonica SA may move after posting first-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates. ArcelorMittal may move after the world’s biggest steelmaker reported a 12 percent increase in first-quarter profit and lowered its forecast for growth in global steel consumption. Alcatel-Lucent SA (ALU) may move after the French network-equipment maker reported a narrower first-quarter loss.
Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index expiring in June declined 0.2 percent to 3,164 at 7:20 a.m. in London. Contracts on the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell 0.1 percent, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slipped less than 0.1 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.1 percent.
The Stoxx 600 climbed yesterday for the first time in five days, sending the benchmark gauge to its highest level since January 2008, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to ease monetary policy next month if needed.
Thirteen companies in the Stoxx 600 are reporting quarterly results today, including Telefonica SA and Vestas Wind Systems A/S. Profits for companies on the Stoxx 600 will climb 8.3 percent this year on average, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The gauge is up 0.5 percent so far this week, poised for the fourth straight weekly gain.
Publicis-Omnicom
Publicis may move. The Paris-based advertising company and New York-based Omnicom abandoned their $35-billion merger deal, saying they couldn’t overcome obstacles that created uncertainty for shareholders, employees and customers. The boards of both companies voted unanimously to end the deal, with no termination fees.
Telefonica may move. Europe’s second-largest telephone company said weaker demand in Spain and currency fluctuations led to a 14 percent drop in first-quarter operating income before depreciation and amortization to 3.93 billion euros ($5.4 billion). The average of analyst projections in a Bloomberg survey called for profit of 3.97 billion euros.
Belgacom SA (BELG) may be active. The state-controlled phone company reported first-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 412 million euros, missing estimates that called for 417 million euros. Revenue trailed estimates too.
Skanska AB may move. The Swedish construction company reported first-quarter operating income of 656 million kronor ($100 million), falling short of the 688 million kronor projected by analysts.
ArcelorMittal may move. Quarterly Ebitda climbed to $1.75 billion from $1.57 billion from a year earlier, the company said. That beat the $1.7 billion average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Alcatel-Lucent may move after saying it narrowed its first-quarter loss was 73 million euros from 353 million euros a year earlier.
Source: bloomberg
