FX.co ★ European Shares Slip After Fed Decision; FTSE 100 Gains On Earnings

On Thursday, European stocks exhibited a mixed trading pattern following a hint from the U.S. Federal Reserve about maintaining higher interest rates for an extended duration. Trading sentiment further declined upon revelation of the continuous downturn in Eurozone's manufacturing activity in April, which reportedly deepened.

According to S&P Global, HCOB's final Eurozone manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) declined to 45.7 in April from the 46.1 in March. With trading resuming post the May Day holiday, the pan-European STOXX 600 index dropped to 503.01, a dip of 0.3%. Losses were also reported in German DAX and France's CAC 40, with 0.2%, and 0.3% respectively.

In contrast, the U.K stocks performed commendably as investors responded positively to impressive earnings from companies like Shell and Standard Chartered. Shell's stock rose by 1.2% following the launch of their $3.5 billion stock repurchase program after beating first-quarter profit estimates. Stock from Standard Chartered saw a hike of 5.4% as the bank reported better-than-expected first-quarter profits stemming from high-interest rates and growth in its wealth management sector.

Smurfit Kappa, a packaging company, saw its shares soar 4.2% following the announcement of a robust first-quarter revenue totaling €2.7 billion. Simultaneously, French office services and call center company, Teleperformance, experienced a climb in their shares by more than 9%, driven by a 26.7% rise in quarterly revenue. This was attributed to the company's acquisition of Dutch competitor, Majorel, concluded last year.

However, German fashion retailer Hugo Boss reported a 3% loss despite reporting higher-than-expected first-quarter profits and anticipating growth for the upcoming year. Furthermore, Vestas, the largest wind turbine manufacturer internationally, reported a surprising first-quarter loss, leading to a 5.6% slump in their stocks. Additionally, globally recognized Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk experienced a 2.8% fall in its stocks, despite registering better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.