Europe open: Stocks waver as investors sift through earnings deluge

European stocks wavered in early trade as investors sifted through an avalanche of corporate news.

At 0900 BST, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.1%, Germany’s DAX was 0.3% higher and France’s CAC 40 was up 0.3%.

At the same time, oil prices were a little higher, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.5% to $43.87 as barrel and Brent crude 0.2% higher at $45.08.

Markus Huber, a trader at City of London Markets, said stocks were showing only tentative signs of staging a potential rebound after Tuesday’s sharp selloff.

“Overall sentiment is negative, also not necessarily helping matters have been comments by a couple of Fed members yesterday who reiterated that a rate hike isn't necessarily completely off the table for June,” he said.

Huber said the main focus of the day will be the US ADP employment report and US labour cost and productivity data.

On the corporate front, Royal Dutch Shell edged lower after saying first-quarter earnings on a current cost of supplies basis and stripping out one-off items fell 58% from the previous year to $1.55bn as weak oil prices continued to take their toll.

Air France-KLM flew lower despite reporting a narrower loss for the first quarter, as it warned on the outlook.

Deutsche Telekom was in the red despite releasing better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.

Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s was under the cosh as its full-year results were hit by falling food prices and the industry price war.

BHP Billiton slumped on news that federal prosecutors in Brazil have launched a $43bn lawsuit against its part-owned Samarco Mineração mining unit to claim compensation for the dam disaster last November.

Brewer Anheuser Busch InBev fell as its first-quarter sales missed estimates, while Apple supplier Dialog Semiconductor tumbled after saying underlying operating profit fell 58% on the year in the first quarter.

On the upside, Societe Generale rallied as its first-quarter profit beat analysts’ expectations and the bank announced additional cost cuts, while Ryanair nudged up after posting a 10% rise in April passenger numbers.

Siemens was also higher after second-quarter profit surpassed forecasts, while London-listed fashion retailer Next pushed up despite cutting its sales and profit guidance and warning of a slowdown.