European Markets Inch Higher As Investors Watch Earnings, Bank Of England; Adidas Down 5%

European markets inched cautiously higher on Thursday morningas investors digested more corporate earnings and await a key monetary policy decision from the Bank of England.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 inched 0.3% higher in early trade, with tech stocks adding 0.9% while basic resources fell 1.3%.
Shares in Asia-Pacific held on to their recent gains in Thursday morning trading, despite uncertainty over Chinese policy and the rapid growth in Covid-19 infections in the region.Stateside, stock futures were little changed in early premarket trade as investors await more corporate earnings and the Labor Department’s official jobs report on Friday.

On the data front in Europe, final PMI (purchasing managers’ index) readings on Wednesday showed euro zone business activity surging in July to its fastest expansion in 15 years.

Investors will be watching the Bank of England for its monetary policy decisionThursday. The bank is expected to uphold its massive stimulus program despite continued recovery from the U.K.’s pandemic lows and a rebound in inflation.

Earnings in focus

Earnings continued guiding sentiment in Europe, with Siemens, Adidas, Merck, Bayer, Intesa Sanpaolo and WPPamong the big names reporting Wednesday.
Adidas upped its outlook for the year, despite a drop in sales in China as some consumers boycotted the German sportwear brand for its stance against alleged human rights abuses. Shares fell 5.4% in early trade.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck KGaA saw its second-quarter profits beat expectations, on the back of increased demand for lab equipment and supplies for developing Covid-19 treatments and vaccines. Merck shares gained 3.6%.

French lender Credit Agricole’s profit for the period also doubled, reaching 1.97 billion euros ($2.33 billion) from 954 million euros this time last year. The rise is credited to government support schemes for the economy and lowered pandemic-related charges for bad loans. Credit Agricole shares slipped 1.2% lower.

At the bottom of the European blue chip index, German e-commerce company Zalando dropped 8.4% after its earnings report.