European Stocks Steady Ahead Of Earnings Season

Europe's major stock markets steadied Monday as investors awaited the next earnings season and digested remarks from the head of the Federal Reserve

London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :Europe's major stock markets steadied Monday as investors awaited the next earnings season and digested remarks from the head of the Federal Reserve.

London nudged lower in afternoon trading, while Frankfurt and Paris were barely in the black.

As trading began in New York, the Dow Jones index showed a slight loss.

Asian equities declined earlier in the day after Fed boss Jerome Powell reiterated his view that the economy was improving -- but warned the deadly coronavirus still posed a risk.

Bitcoin climbed before Wednesday's stock market flotation of Coinbase, the largest US cryptocurrency exchange.

"European markets are kicking off a new week in somewhat subdued fashion, with the recent focus on vaccination efforts and relative levels of lockdown giving way to a week where earnings seen to take precedence," said analyst Joshua Mahony at trading firm IG.

"With US first-quarter earnings season underway this week, we finally see a measure of just how far companies have come since the onset of the crisis.

"The US banks take centre stage for this first week," he said, noting investors would closely follow news of any exposure to troubled hedge fund Archegos Capital Management.

JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs will post their first-quarter numbers on Wednesday, followed by Morgan Stanley on Friday.

Investors remain hopeful of more gains as Covid-19 vaccines are rolled out around the world and US President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus filters through to the economy -- with another big spending package in the works.