Europe Movers: ABN AMRO, Commerzbank, Continental AG, Credit Agricole, ITV, Marks & Spencer, Serco

Inga Muller
08 Nov, 2023
Frankfurt

European markets lacked direction for the second day in a row after rallying the previous week.

September retail sales in the Euro Area declined 2.9% from a year ago as consumers battled elevated prices and rising interest rates.

The DAX index decreased 0.4% to 15,099.82, the CAC-40 index fell 0.2% to 6,974.08, and the FTSE 100 index declined 0.2% to 7,399.50.

The yield on 10-year German bonds decreased to 2.64%, French bonds traded lower to 3.23%, the UK gilts edged down to 4.26%, and Italian bonds inched higher to 4.54%.

Credit Agricole SA increased 1.8% to €11.79 after the French bank reported better-than-expected earnings in the third quarter.

Standalone revenue in the third quarter increased 19.2% to €6.3 billion, and net income surged 32.8% to €1.8 billion.

Positive results in corporate and investment banking overwhelmed the weakness in retail banking in France, and the asset management division saw stronger asset inflows of €13.7 billion in the quarter.

Continental AG jumped 2.2% to €63.14 after the company reported slightly higher earnings in the latest quarter.

Consolidated sales in the third quarter declined 1.5% to €10.2 billion from €10.4 billion, but net income increased to €299 million from a loss of €211 million.

The company tightened its consolidated annual sales outlook to between €41.0 billion and €43.0 billion, up from the previous range of between €41.5 billion and €44.5 billion.

The company also slightly raised its adjusted operating earnings margin outlook to between 12.5% and 13.5% from the previous range of between 12% and 13%.

Commerzbank AG declined 3% to €10.08, despite the German bank reporting a profit in the third quarter that more than tripled.

ITV plc decreased 5.6% to 61.92 pence after the British television network operator reported flat revenue.

Serco Group plc gained 1.3% to 146.0 pence after the company won a £200 million monitoring service contract for the Ministry of Justice.

Marks & Spencer Group plc soared 10.6% to 249.17 pence after the retailer reported a jump in profit in the fiscal first half.

Revenue in the first half jumped 10.8% to £6.1 billion from £5.5 billion in the corresponding period a year ago.

Statutory after-tax profit in the first half jumped 24.1% to £206.9 million from £166.7 million, and basic earnings per share increased to 10.6 pence from 8.5 pence a year ago.

ABN AMRO Bank dropped 9.5% to €11.91 after the Dutch bank reported weaker-than-expected net interest income in the third quarter because of deposit migration to higher-yielding products.

Net income in the quarter increased to €759 million from €743 million, and earnings per share rose to 85 cents from 80 cents a year ago.

Net interest income increased 20% from a year ago to €1.5 billion but fell from the previous quarter because of deposit migration and lower results in trading activities.