16 minutes ago
German GDP for the fourth quarter has been revised downwards
In the early morning, an underground train pulls into Landungsbrücken station.
Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
The German economy shrank by 0.4% in the last quarter of 2022, the country’s statistics office said on Friday, although an initial estimate pointed to a 0.2% contraction in GDP.
The economy grew by 0.8%, 0.1% and 0.5% in the previous three quarters, while overall growth was confirmed at 1.8% year-on-year.
ING analyst Carsten Brzeski said in a note that while the economy has held up on fiscal support and a warm winter, it “definitely does not guarantee a strong recovery any time soon”.
Signs of weakness include two consecutive declines in current business sentiment, weak consumer confidence and a fall in the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, he said, prompting the Dutch bank to forecast another economic contraction in the first quarter.
“Celebrating resilience was a bit premature. A tech recession is in the making,” he wrote.
The German DAX index lost 0.4% at midday in Berlin.
– Jennie Reid
41 minutes ago
Holcim sees record sales, CEO says “no recession” in the company
Materials group Holcim reported record net sales of 29.1 billion Swiss francs (US$31.3 billion) and better-than-expected net income of 44% to 3.3 billion Swiss francs.
CEO Jan Jenisch told CNBC it’s been a “very strong year in terms of operating cash flow” but the company has faced challenges due to input cost inflation, which he says has peaked.
“There is no recession at Holcim,” he said. “We have very good order books, we are going strong this year, while in Europe there has been a slowdown since the first half of last year.”
The Swiss firm also announced that Jenisch will become its next chairman once his successor is appointed.
Shares of the company fell 0.6% as of 11am in London.
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Holcim share price.
Before an hour
Saint-Gobain CFO: We are confident of delivering “very strong” results in 2023
Sreedhar N., Saint-Gobain’s Chief Financial Officer, discusses the company’s full-year results.
2 hours ago
Stocks on the move: Elekta up 9%, BASF down 5.5%
Swedish medical company Elekta led shares up 9.1% in morning trade after third-quarter results showed higher sales and earnings.
Compagnie de Saint-Gobain and Rolls-Royce were also higher after beating analysts’ expectations for earnings yesterday.
At the bottom of European stocks, chemicals giant BASF slipped 5.5% after announcing it would cut 2,600 jobs and halt share buybacks amid falling earnings.
– Jennie Reid
3 hours ago
European markets open higher
European markets got off to a solid start on Friday, with the Stoxx 600 Index up 0.4% shortly after the open.
France’s CAC 40 rose 0.6%, while Germany’s DAX and Britain’s FTSE 100 both rose about 0.3%. Construction stocks led sector gains, up 0.9%.
4 hours ago
European markets are expected to open higher
European markets opened slightly higher on Friday.
The FTSE 100 should gain 15 points, the French CAC 40 29.7 points, the German DAX 28 points and the Italian MIB 142.5 points.
After struggling earlier in the week, the Stoxx 600 index closed 0.1% higher on Thursday.
– Jennie Reid
5 hours before
“Without a doubt our favorite mega-cap”: The investor names the stock he should buy in the next 10 years
Mark Hawtin, investment director at Zurich-based GAM Investments, said a big tech’s dominant position and critical role in the enterprise software ecosystem makes it ideal to own during a global economic downturn.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
6 hours ago
Asia tech is back, says Bernstein, naming Alibaba and 5 other top picks
China’s reopening is seen as a major tailwind for equity markets this year, and Bernstein has shared a list of stock picks to cash — which also reportedly offer downside protection.
“We are working with our sector analysts to highlight 30 stocks that appear well positioned to take advantage of tailwinds from China’s reopening, benefiting from risk appetite while keeping an eye on the looming global recession risk,” they wrote Bernstein analysts led by Jay Huang issued a note on Feb. 20.
Bank said it prefers ‘latecomers’ – Beating stocks over the past year – as this quarter’s “best exposure” in Asia. But it also urged investors to take some “defensive exposure” by holding high-yield stocks to protect the downside if the market turns less risky.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
– Zavier Ong