Europe retreats at opening, between geopolitical tensions and results
July 19, 2024 at 04:12 am
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Europe's main stock markets retreated in early trading on Friday, as investors digested the European Central Bank's (ECB) decisions of the previous day and a series of mixed corporate results.
In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.64% to 7,530.79 points around 07:45 GMT. In London, the FTSE 100 gave up 0.63% and in Frankfurt, the Dax was down 0.57%.
The Stoxx 600 index lost 0.55%.
The publication of a salvo of mixed results by a number of European companies drove trading, as markets prepared for the numerous quarterly publications expected in the coming weeks.
On Friday morning, investors took note of UK retail sales figures, which fell more than expected in June, and German producer prices, which were in line with expectations.
They were also cautious in the wake of the ECB meeting, which made no significant changes to eurozone monetary policy, and in the face of the geopolitical uncertainties that have been weighing on the markets in recent days.
The day was also marked by a large-scale worldwide computer breakdown, affecting major airports in particular.
On the value side, Sartorius Stedim Biotech , which reported lower first-half operating income before non-recurring items on Thursday, was down 12.9%.
Sopra Steria , which published its preliminary first-half results on Thursday and lowered its sales guidance for the year, lost 10.4%.
Ubisoft fell by 8.6% after the publication of its first-quarter figures.
N.B.: Due to a computer breakdown, we are unable to provide variations on international stocks.
(Written by Pauline Foret, edited by Augustin Turpin and Kate Entringer)
Sopra Steria Group is one of the leading French companies providing IT services. The activity is organized mainly around three areas:
- consulting services: strategic consulting, implementing of restructuring projects and development towards new technologies, etc.;
- systems integration and solutions: design and implementation of Internet technology solutions (portals, merchant sites, Intranet and Extranet networks, etc.), integration of ERP solutions, implementation of application solutions (customer relationship management, HR management, etc.). The group also offers subcontracting solutions for providing technical support to users and application maintenance;
- outsourcing services and operation of professional processes: supervision, administration and operation of IT infrastructures, operation of finance, administration, human resources functions, etc.
Net sales break down by market between industry (29.6%), services (24.6%), public sector (19.4%), finance (16%), telecommunications and media (7.2%) and retail (3.1%).
53.5% of net sales are generated abroad.