European stocks open lower at end of winning week

An hour ago
Burberry reports higher sales as China demand picks up
British luxury retailer Burberry reported an 18% rise in sales revenue for the quarter ending July 1 as earnings season gets under way.
Sales in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa increased by 17%. But the biggest successes came in Asia, with mainland China sales up 46%, South Asia Pacific up 39% and Japan up 44%. Sales in America decreased by 8%.
The company reiterated its full-year guidance and announced a £400m share buyback to be completed by the end of the calendar year.
See diagram…
Burberry share price.
2 hours ago
Opening call: European stocks open lower
European stocks appear to have a lower open on Friday, according to data from IG. Britain’s FTSE 100 is headed for a 15.5-point drop to 7,427, while Germany’s DAX is set to open 14.4 points lower at 16,130. France’s CAC 40 and Italy’s MIB were seen opening lower by 13.8 and 26 points respectively.
– Jenny Reid
7 hours ago
CNBC Pro: This high-yield bond fund with ‘conservative’ assets offers 10% in dividends
The fund manager behind a bond fund offering 10% in dividends has predicted a “credit deterioration” for the wider economy in the near future.
However, the portfolio manager expects the fund to be well positioned for such a scenario, while generating market-beating income.
It is among only a handful of funds available to retail investors across Europe currently offering double-digit returns.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
– Ganesh Rao
4 hours ago
Global fintech funding plunged nearly 50% in first half of 2023: S&P
Funding in fintech startups fell 49% globally to $23 billion in the first half of 2023 compared to a year ago, S&P Global Market Intelligence data showed.
The number of agreements in the first six months of 2023 was 1,178 – a decrease of 64% from the same period last year.
Meanwhile, mega-funding rounds of more than $100 million have been scarce, with just nine in the second quarter of 2023, compared to 23 in the first quarter of 2023 and 55 in the second quarter of 2022, S&P said.
The failure of Silicon Valley Bank in March “tempered investors’ risk appetite,” S&P said.
“A trio of big-ticket deals — Stripe’s $6.87 billion, an Ant Group unit’s $1.5 billion and PhonePe’s $850 million — masked the deterioration in the fintech funding environment in the first half of 2023,” said Sampath Sharma Nariyanuri, analyst for fintech at S&P. Global Market Intelligence.
However, Nariyanuri expects “a rebound in public market capitalizations of technology stocks, a stabilization in interest rates and an increase in M&A activity” to boost the second half of 2023.
– Sheila Chiang
4 hours ago
The International Monetary Fund says China’s growth is slowing
The International Monetary Fund said growth in China is slowing due to weaker private investment as well as slowing exports and reduced domestic demand.
The organization’s spokesperson Julie Kozak said in a briefing, “Growth momentum has slowed recently in China, largely due to weaker-than-expected private investment,” pointing to a recent slowdown in exports after seeing strong results in the first quarter of the year.
“The overall picture for growth in China is a slowing economy, and that is consistent with the forecast we had in April,” noting that an “updated forecast” for China will be reflected in the IMF’s next World Economic Outlook.
– Jihye Lee
19 hours ago
The producer price index rises less than expected
The producer price index, a measure of what wholesalers pay for goods, rose 0.1% in June. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected an increase of 0.2 percent. Core PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, climbed 0.1% – also less than expected.
— Fred Imbert
7 hours ago
Australia appoints Michele Bullock as new central bank governor
Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Michele Bullock has been appointed as the new central bank governor, the country’s finance minister said on Friday.
She succeeds the incumbent Philip Lowe, whose term ends on 17 September – approaching his 43rd year at the bank. Treasurer Jim Chalmers described Bullock’s appointment as “the optimal balance between providing exceptional experience and expertise and offering a fresh leadership perspective.”
Bullock’s appointment will mean the RBA will have a vacant deputy governor position, which the government said it will fill in the coming months.
– Lim Hui Jie
8 hours ago
The Fed’s Waller says two more interest rate hikes are needed to bring down inflation
Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller expressed the need for two more rate hikes to bring inflation down to target.
“I see two more 25 basis point increases in the target range over the four remaining meetings this year as necessary to keep inflation moving toward our target,” he said at an event at New York University on Thursday.
He called the latest CPI reading showing a cooling rate of inflation as “welcome” news, while adding: “one data point does not constitute a trend.”
“I will need to see this improvement sustained before I am confident that inflation has abated,” he said.
– Jihye Lee
7 hours ago
CNBC Pro: ‘Undeniably huge’ opportunity: Bank of America names generative AI global ‘winners’
Bank of America has described the AI opportunity in the software industry as “undoubtedly huge” and ranked European companies in the sector.
“We see gen AI as an opportunity for the software industry to achieve both potential revenue growth via improved value proposition and data monetization, along with productivity improvements,” the bank said.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
– Lucy Handley
14 hours ago
S&P 500 up more than 3% since interest rate hikes started
In another bullish sign for the market, the S&P 500 is now up 3.3% since the Fed began raising interest rates in March 2022. The move comes as traders cheer the prospect of the central bank taming inflation without tipping the economy into recession.
See diagram…
SPX since Fed rate hikes began
“For the first time in 2023, we are currently being asked by several clients whether we believe the S&P 500 is now on track to clock an ATH before year-end. I say yes to this,” Goldman Sachs’ John Flood wrote in a note Wednesday.
— Fred Imbert