European Market Trading Week Start On A Dull Movement

The pan-European Stoxx 600 slid 0.5% in early trade, with retail stocks dropping 1.7% to lead losses as most sectors and major bourses fell into the red. Utilities bucked the trend to gain 0.5%.Global markets are gearing up for more earnings this week, following a stronger-than-expected start to the earnings season in the U.S. last week.

U.S. stock index futures were mostly unchanged during overnight trading on Sunday, after the major averages posted their best week in months last week, amid a positive start to earnings season.

In addition to better-than-expected earnings from Goldman Sachs on Friday, positive economic data also boosted stocks. Retail sales rose 0.7% in September, the Census Bureau said Friday, while economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting a decline of 0.2%.

A number of big names are set to report earnings in the coming week, including Netflix, Johnson & Johnson, United Airlines and Procter & Gamble on Tuesday. Tesla, Verizon and IBM are among the other names whose earnings are due to be released later this week.

Meanwhile, in Asia-Pacific overnight, stocks mostly traded lower as investors reacted to the release of key Chinese economic data that showed China’s gross domestic product grew 4.9% in third quarter. That was below expectations of analysts in a Reuters poll for a 5.2% expansion.

Industrial production also missed forecasts, rising 3.1% in September, against expectations in a Reuters poll for a 4.5% increase.

In terms of individual share price movement, embattled British e-commerce company THG saw its shares gain 3.7% on Monday morning after Sky News reported that founder Matthew Moulding will surrender his “founder’s share” in the company and move it to the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange in 2022.

At the bottom of the Stoxx 600, Swedish stockbroker Avanza fell 5% after its third-quarter earnings report, while Belgian miner Umicore dropped 4.5% after cutting its profit forecast
– CNBC