Stocks Struggle Amid Mixed Earnings; Gold Slips: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stocks struggled for direction as a raft of earnings reports provided a mixed picture of corporate profitability in the region. Gold and silver extended declines after Tuesday’s slump.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index was little changed, with the basic resources sector recovering some of Tuesday’s losses. Consumer products and services led declines after results from L’Oreal SA, Hermes International SCA and Adidas AG failed to meet lofty expectations.
Gold dipped 0.5% after its worst intraday drop in more than a dozen years in the previous session. Silver also declined following Tuesday’s 7.1% fall.
US equity futures were steady after a rally on Wall Street lost steam. Netflix Inc. fell in premarket trading after the streaming-video company reported third-quarter results it said were hurt by a tax dispute with Brazil. Texas Instruments Inc. slumped after an underwhelming outlook. Alphabet Inc. gained after a report that the Google owner is in talks with Anthropic PBC about a deal for cloud computing services valued in the high tens of billions of dollars.
Despite recent de-risking amid concerns over trade and credit, stock exposure among global macro hedge funds and long-only strategies remains at the highest in over a year, according to Barclays Plc. Drawdowns have been short-lived as investors see them as opportunities to add risk to their portfolios. That includes a move toward large-cap high-quality names, a switch that’s supporting the broader market.
“Market sentiment remains nervous,” said Mohit Kumar, chief economist and strategist at Jefferies International Ltd. “Our view remains that a selloff from these levels would be healthy as it would clean up some long overhangs and provide us an opportunity to buy.”
Among companies reporting in Europe on Wednesday, Barclays Plc gained after raising its earnings guidance and unveiling a £500 million buyback. Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc advanced after sales rose more than expected as the London-based consumer goods company reported strong growth in the region that includes China. Akzo Nobel NV slumped after the paintmaker lowered its earnings outlook, with customers more hesitant to spend amid rising global tariffs and softer economic conditions.
Earnings will “play a decisive role in determining whether the rally can be sustained,” said Linh Tran, a market analyst at XS.com. “Profit expectations for major tech companies have been revised upward, while consumer and financial sectors may benefit from resilient demand and higher interest margins. If corporate results continue to outperform forecasts, this could help the S&P 500 extend its gains into Q4.”
The heightened focus on precious metals this week follows a rapid rally earlier this year that was fueled by central bank-led buying and worries about fiscal woes in developed countries. The slumps also came after technical indicators showed the recent scorching rallies were likely overstretched.
Elsewhere, the pound fell, gilts gained and the FTSE 100 stock benchmark rose after UK inflation held steady last month, with consumer prices rising 3.8% from a year earlier, unchanged from the previous month and a slower pace than the median analyst estimate. Traders added to bets on Bank of England interest-rate rate cuts.
The dollar and Treasuries were largely flat. Oil jumped following a report that the US and India are nearing a trade deal that could see the South Asian nation gradually reducing imports of Russian crude.
US Shutdown
The ongoing US government shutdown is on the cusp of becoming the second-longest on record. The shutdown has delayed the publication of official data, including September’s inflation figures which the government plans to release on Friday.
Trade tensions remain in focus, after Donald Trump predicted an upcoming meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, would yield a “good deal” on trade. However, the US president also conceded that the highly anticipated talks may not happen.
Meanwhile, geopolitics are back on the radar. Russia launched multiple drone and missile strikes on Ukraine as the latest peace attempts by US President Donald Trump appeared to be floundering. European defense stocks including Rheinmetall AG and Hensoldt AG gained.
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Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.2% as of 9:35 a.m. London time S&P 500 futures were little changed Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.1% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.3% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1592 The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 151.74 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1287 per dollar The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3316 Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 2.3% to $108,287.98 Ether fell 2.5% to $3,858.13 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.96% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.56% Britain’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 4.41% Commodities
Brent crude rose 1.6% to $62.30 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.4% to $4,108.57 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Michael Msika and Richard Henderson.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
