PARIS, May 7 (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are trending upwards on Tuesday morning after the publication of numerous company results, particularly in the finance sector which supports the trend. Investors’ good mood is also fueled by the hope of a rate cut from the American Federal Reserve (Fed) following previous sessions. In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.35% to 8,024.51 points around 07:50 GMT. In London, the FTSE 100 advances by 0.95% and in Frankfurt, the Dax gains 0.38%. The EuroStoxx 50 index increased by 0.34%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.58% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.48%. Futures contracts on Wall Street predict near stability for the Dow Jones and the Standard & Poor’s 500, while the Nasdaq could fall by 0.13% the day after a session in the green, the third consecutive increase in indices in fence. On the bond market, bets on a first rate cut by the Fed in November are benefiting the yield on ten-year US Treasury bonds which fell by almost three basis points, to 4.461%, while its German equivalent of the same maturity also yields around three basis points, at 2.447%. In today’s company publications, the banking (+0.79%) and financial (+2.29%) sectors in Europe are in demand with in particular UBS which jumped 7.87% thanks to the announcement by the group of its first profit since the takeover of Credit Suisse. Unicredit rose 3.1% after posting a profit above consensus over the January-March period. BBVA gained 1.93% while Sabadell (-1.19%) rejected the proposed merger between the two banks. In construction, Bouygues fell 4.52%, the group having disappointed with its current operating income from activities (ROCA) in the first quarter, citing in particular a difficult market environment for its real estate division. Heidelberg Materials (-1.77%), the world number two in cement, is also in decline, despite a better-than-expected quarterly operating profit, in a context of slowdown in construction activity in Europe. In chemicals, the French group Arkema rose 3.21% after its results, while the Belgian Solvay gained 5.56% after reporting a smaller than expected drop in its operating profit on Tuesday. In energy, BP (-0.76%), which reported a sharp fall in its profit in the first quarter, is in the red, while the German Uniper advances by 2.86% after confirming its outlook. In health, several publications disappointed, like Valneva, which dropped 1.46%, Fresenius Medical Care which plunged 6.84%, Sandoz which lost 0.84% or even Siemens Healthineers which fell. of 4.69%. In other sectors, Infineon climbed 5.52%, driven by the announcement of its savings program after lowering its turnover forecast for the whole year. Zalando gained 7.2%, the online fashion retailer having returned to growth in the first quarter. (Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)
