Europe Movers: Endesa, Energy Stocks, Ericsson, Jet2, P Z Cussons, Stellantis, Virgin Money

Inga Muller
23 Nov, 2023
Frankfurt

Market indexes in Frankfurt and Paris edged higher after the downturn in the private sector eased, and Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel said rates may be near terminal levels.

The DAX index increased 0.1% to 15,973.91, the CAC-40 index rose 0.2% to 7,277.51, and the FTSE 100 index fell 0.01% to 7,463.66.

The yield on 10-year German bonds increased to 2.57%; French bonds traded lower to 3.13%; the UK gilts increased to 4.18%; and Italian bonds inched higher to 4.33%.

Energy stocks traded higher despite the fact that crude oil prices continued to decline for the second day in a row after the OPEC+ postponed its meeting as oil-producing nations struggled to decide output levels for the next two months.

BP plc increased 1.4% to 472.65 pence, Shell PLC gained 0.6% to 2,573.50 pence, Repsol SA advanced 0.8% to €13.90, and TotalEnergies SA added 1.4% to €62.74.

Stellantis NV rose 0.5% to €18.65 after the Italian-American-French automotive company repurchased 50 million common shares from Dongfeng Motor for about €934 million.

Endesa SA decreased 2.7% to €18.79 after the Spanish utility company trimmed its profit and dividend estimates.

L M Ericsson AB decreased 1% to kr51.81 after the Swedish telecom group completed the sale of €500 million of green bonds.

Jet2 PLC declined 4.4% to 1,081.0 pence after the travel and holiday company reported its interim results.

A higher travel passenger count and a higher holiday package price contributed to the increase in revenue and profit in the period.

Revenue in the first half ending in September increased 24% to £4.4 billion from £3.6 billion, net income advanced 39% to £496 million from 356 million, and diluted earnings per share rose 231 pence from 139.10 pence a year ago.

The company hiked its quarterly cash dividend to 4 pence from 3 pence a year ago.

However, the company offered a cautionary view of the upcoming winter holiday season, as available seat capacity is up 21% from a year ago to 4.49 million, and the average load factor is down 1.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

The company reiterated its pre-tax earnings between £480 million and £520 million, before adjusted for foreign currencies for the full-year ending in March 2024.

PZ Cussons plc rose 1.4% to 139.90 pence after the company said its performance continues to be in line with management expectations and reiterated its fiscal 2024 outlook.

Virgin Money UK plc decreased 3.7% to 151.20 pence after the company reported a drop in annual profit.