Market Analysis

European markets opened on a subdued note on Thursday as investors returned from a mid-week holiday to digest a mix of significant earnings reports and signals from the Federal Reserve indicating a delay in interest rate cuts.

The pan-European STOXX 600 slipped by 0.2% by 0715 GMT, marking its first monthly decline of the year in April.

Investors reengaged after the Labour Day holiday on Wednesday, a day that witnessed the Fed suggesting that rates would remain elevated for a longer period due to recent disappointing inflation data.

Energy stocks experienced a notable decline of 1.7%, with Vestas suffering a 4.2% drop after reporting an unexpected loss in the first quarter, despite being the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer.

Novo Nordisk (CSE:NOVOb) revised its 2024 outlook upward and posted stronger-than-anticipated first-quarter profits. However, the stock dipped by 2.4% after initially gaining ground.

Meanwhile, Netherlands' ING Groep (AS:INGA) surged by 5.4% following a 2.5 billion euro ($2.68 billion) share buyback announcement and robust performance in the first quarter. Britain's Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) also climbed by 5% after exceeding expectations with its first-quarter profits, propelling the banking index to lead sectoral gains.

French office services and call center firm Teleperformance witnessed a remarkable surge of 15.4% on the back of higher first-quarter sales.

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author.