Stocks - Europe Mixed; Peugeot Sees "Solid Rebound"

By Peter Nurse 

Investing.com - European stock markets traded mixed on Tuesday amid varied corporate earnings that illustrated the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic without shedding too much light on the future..

At 4:20 AM ET (0810 GMT), the DAX in Germany traded 0.2% higher, the CAC 40 in France fell 0.3% and the U.K.'s FTSE index was up 0.3%. 

In corporate news, Peugeot (PA:PEUP) stock rose 3.3% after the French car maker said it was aiming for a "solid rebound" in the second half of 2020, despite a sharp drop in its net profit in the first half of the year.

Delivery Hero (DE:DHER) gained 2.5%, benefiting from lockdown measures to combat the coronavirus. The German-based food-delivery company, which operates mostly in emerging markets, raised its full-year guidance following a revenue and orders jump in the second quarter. 

Reckitt Benckiser stock fell 0.9% after an expected surge in revenue for its cleaning products failed to provoke new buying after a rally of nearly 50% since March.

Elsewhere, the luxury sector headed lower after LVMH (PA:LVMH) said its second-quarter sales were hit hard by store closures. LVMH stock fell 4.8%. Moncler (MI:MONC) also slid 3.6% after reporting a first-half operating loss for the first time in its history.

Additionally, the European banking sector was in focus after the European Central Bank extended until January 2021 its recommendation to Eurozone lenders not to pay dividends.

On Monday, U.S. Republicans unveiled their latest $1 trillion stimulus package. They now need to find a compromise between this plan and the Democrats' $3.5 trillion proposal before some of the earlier support measures expire at the end of the week.

At the same time, there are signs of improvement in the U.S.'s battle with the Covid-19 virus. New infections fell to their lower in nearly three weeks at the weekend, suggesting a slowdown beyond the normal weekend dip. That said, Hong Kong, Australia, Spain and Germany are some of the locations also dealing with a renewed spike in cases.

Fear about the virus' spread drove gold prices to a record high on Tuesday morning in Asia, closing in on the $2,000/oz level, while EUR/USD traded at 1.1706, down 0.4%.

It’s unusual for the price of gold to do so well at the same as stocks, but it remains one of few assets for which a simple and convincing bull case can be made in the post-Covid world.

Oil prices were largely unchanged Tuesday, with U.S. crude futures traded 0.4% lower at $41.44 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract was flat at $43.90.

Traders will be watching out for U.S. inventory data due from the American Petroleum Institute industry group later on Tuesday and the government on Wednesday. 

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