European stocks inch higher as positive earnings counter oil, Wirecard slump
Reuters
Published Apr 28, 2020 03:40AM ET
(Reuters) - European shares hovered near two-week highs on Tuesday as a slate of strong earnings reports from companies, including Novartis and UBS, outweighed a slump in oil prices and shares of Wirecard.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (STOXX) was up 0.1% by 0722 GMT, after closing at its highest level since mid-April on Monday as many countries planned to ease coronavirus-induced lockdown measures.
Europe's oil & gas sector (SXEP) shed 0.6% as oil prices (CLc1) (LCOc1) sank on concerns about dwindling crude storage capacity worldwide.
London-based BP (L:BP) slipped 1.8% as it forecast significantly lower refining margins in the second quarter and its first-quarter profits tumbled by two-thirds as the health crisis hammered oil demand.
The biggest drag, however, was German financial services company Wirecard (DE:WDIG), which plunged 21.3% after it published results of an investigation by auditor KPMG.
Offering some respite to Europe's battered banking sector (SX7P), UBS (S:UBSG) gained 4.3% after reporting a 40% rise in January-March profit.
Novartis (S:NOVN) rose 1% after it confirmed its 2020 targets as the pandemic prompted patients to stock up on their prescriptions in advance.
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Written By: Reuters
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