European stocks closed flat. This is because of the gains in banks and commodity-linked sectors were offset by losses in industrial stocks on rising bond yields. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed largely unchanged at 472.21 points. This is with concerns over rising inflation and slowing economic growth also weighing on sentiment. Mining and energy stocks rose 1.8% and 1.0%. This is boosted by oil prices at multi-year highs and a rebound in copper prices.
Andrea Cicione, head of strategy at TS Lombard said that the market has been worried about the risk of stagflation. And every time oil prices goes up, that’s when the market starts to worry that stagflation risk is coming back. Rising bond yields, driven by expectations of monetary policy tightening in the U.S. and Britain, benefited bank stocks. HSBC Holdings gained 1.9%. But rising yields weighed on industrials and utilities. This is because they made future returns from the sectors that are largely dividend-linked. Planemaker Airbus fell 1.6% on rebuffing calls to temper plans. Telecom stocks sank 0.9% after BofA Global Research reinstated “underperform” ratings on Nokia and Ericsson. The STOXX 600 finished at over six-week highs. The focus turns to major earnings. Of the 18% of STOXX 600 companies that have issued third-quarter reports so far, 63% topped analysts’ profit estimates. About 52% beat estimates. UniCredit slipped 1.7%. This is after the Italian government and the bank ended talks over the sale of ailing Tuscan bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS). Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) slid 2.4%. Spain’s Sabadell rose 2.8%.
