Eurozone inflation data in focus

Shares of Portuguese food distribution and retailer Jeronimo Martins rose 9.2% on Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter results. The company's net profit was 193 million euros ($210 million) during the quarter, more than the 166 million euros that analysts had expected, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, British medical equipment maker Smith & Nephew cut its core revenue growth forecast for the full year of 2024, citing headwinds in China. Growth is now expected to be around 4.5%, down from the previously expected range of 5% to 6%. The company's shares recently fell 13.6%.

-Sophie Kiderlein

Shares of French bank Société Générale jumped more than 8% shortly after markets opened on Thursday.

The bank said on Thursday that its revenues jumped 10.5% year-on-year in the third quarter, reaching 6.8 billion euros ($7.4 billion). The group's net income amounted to 1.4 billion euros.

The bank also announced several leadership changes on Thursday, including the appointment of Leopoldo Alvear as the new group CFO, replacing current CFO Claire Dumas in early 2025.

Societe Generale shares were last up 8.23% at 8:39 a.m. London time.

-Sophie Kiderlein

Preliminary data from the French statistics office, Ensee, showed that French inflation reached 1.5% in October, in line with the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters.

Inflation rose by 1.4% in September.

The readings are harmonized to ensure comparability across the euro area.

Ince linked the near stabilization of inflation to a slowdown in utility prices and a less sharp annual decline in energy costs in October compared to the previous month.

-Sophie Kiderlein

European markets opened lower on Thursday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index down 0.65% at 8:04 a.m. London time.

Sectors traded broadly in negative territory, with insurance stocks down 1.42% and retail stocks down 1.14%.

Retail sales in Germany rose 1.2% month-on-month in real terms in September, statistics agency Destatis said Thursday, according to a CNBC translation. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a decline of 0.5%.

Destatis noted that food sales fell by 0.8% in September compared to August.

Separately, German economic institute Ifo on Thursday released its latest business climate in retail survey, saying the index came in at minus 25.2 points in October, compared to minus 25.6 points in September.

Ifo said retailers consider their current situation to have improved slightly, but expectations for the coming months remain low.

-Sophie Kiderlein

Auto giant Stellantis on Thursday reported a 27% drop in third-quarter net revenue, but said it was making progress in addressing operational issues such as US inventories.

The Netherlands-based company, which owns well-known names including Jeep, Dodge, Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot, said net revenue for the July-September period amounted to 33 billion euros ($35.8 billion). Analysts had expected third-quarter net revenue to reach €36.6 billion, according to the LSEG consensus.

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-Sam Meredith

Brewer Carlsberg on Thursday reported revenue growth of 0.9% in the third quarter of 2024, totaling DKK 20.5 billion ($2.98 billion).

“It was a difficult quarter, influenced by the difficult consumer environment and weather,” said Jacob Arup Andersen, CEO of Carlsberg. The company noted that volumes were lower in China, the United Kingdom and France.

Carlsberg left its full-year 2024 outlook unchanged, saying it expects organic growth in its operating profits before special items come in at between 4% and 6%.

-Sophie Kiderlein

Belgian beer giant AB InBev reported Thursday that its total revenue rose 2.1% in the third quarter, lower than the 3.4% increase that analysts had expected, according to Reuters.

Trading volumes also decreased more than expected. The company said it sold smaller quantities of beer in several key markets including the United States, Mexico and China.

However, the world's largest brewer raised its forecast for the full year of 2024, saying it expects its organic underlying earnings (EBITDA) to now reach between 6% to 8%, compared to the previous forecast of 4% to 8%.

AB InBev also announced a $2 billion stock buyback program over the next 12 months.

-Sophie Kiderlein

British oil giant Shell on Thursday reported a slight year-on-year decline to post stronger-than-expected third-quarter profits, partly due to a sharp decline in crude oil prices and lower refining margins.

The energy company reported adjusted earnings of $6 billion for the July-September period, beating analysts' expectations of $5.3 billion, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.

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-Sam Meredith

European markets are expected to open in negative territory on Thursday.

UK FTSE 100 index The index is expected to open 14 points lower at 8,145 in Germany Dax Declining 78 points to 19,184 points for France Kak Down 12 points at 7412 and Italy FTSE MIB indicator Down 193 points to 34,110, according to IG data.

Traders will be watching Eurozone inflation data on Thursday, as earnings come in coincidence, Stellantis, Maersk, AP InBev and Carlsberg.

– Holly Eliatt

Japan's central bank said it will continue raising interest rates if the country's economy continues to recover, the Bank of Japan wrote in its quarterly forecast report.

This comes after the bank kept its benchmark interest rate at 0.25% on Thursday.

The report puts Japan's “potential growth rate” at 0.5% to 1%, with the Bank of Japan adding that the country's economy is likely to “continue growing at a pace higher than its potential growth rate.”

However, the Bank of Japan also stressed that it needs to “pay due attention” to the course of external economies, especially the United States, as well as developments in capital and financial markets.

– Lim Hui Ji

China's manufacturing PMI flipped into expansion territory for the first time since April, with the National Bureau of Statistics revealing that its manufacturing PMI reached 50.1.

This exceeds the expectations of economists polled by Reuters, who expected the manufacturing PMI to come in at 49.9, a smaller contraction than the previous month's 49.8.

The composite PMI reached 50.8, higher than 50.4 in August. China's non-manufacturing PMI also came in stronger at 50.2, up from 50.0 the previous month.

Read more in the full story here.

– Lim Hui Ji

Interest in India is steadily increasing among investors.

As the Diwali festive season begins in the South Asian country, several sectors – and stocks – are expected to perform well, analysts say.

Samvat 2081 – which begins on Diwali on October 31 – marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year. It can lead to movements in the stock market, with some investors viewing it as a fresh start.

Indian markets created history in Samvat 2080 as the BSE Sensex crossed 85,900 in September while the benchmark Nifty 50 index crossed 26,250. Both indices rose about 25% during the year, analysts from Kotak Securities said.

Analysts from Kotak and Mirae Asset have revealed four buy-rated Indian stocks with a potential upside of more than 30%, and they are betting on this Diwali.

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– Amala Balakrishner