A sea of red across European indices says everything you need to know about investors’ mood. While the losses are relatively minor, the fact the key European markets are falling at the start of the new trading week suggest that investors are nervous once again about the outlook.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “One of the key issues is the gloomier picture for corporate earnings growth. Earnings drive share prices and the prospect of slower growth and/or squeezed margins doesn’t bode well for equities.
“Economically sensitive sectors including mining and energy were among the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100, including a 1.9% decline in Glencore and a 1.5% fall in BP.
“In the US, all eyes are on the big tech names which report earnings throughout the week. Tuesday sees Microsoft, Alphabet and Visa report numbers, with Meta Platforms on Wednesday, and Amazon and Mastercard on Thursday. Cost-cutting has been a key driver for many of their share prices in recent months, yet investors will want to know that underlying business is still healthy otherwise the recent rally in US tech names could grind to a halt.
“We’re also getting updates from companies that provide popular food and drink products, namely Coca-Cola which reports today and PepsiCo and McDonald’s tomorrow. They are expected to have seen resilient demand given their low-price points.”
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