European stocks rose on Friday, but gains were tempered by a record rise in coronavirus cases in the US Earnings for German business software group SAP SE boosted the index, while Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB pulled in the other direction after reporting weak sales.
The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP Index,
It rose 0.4% to 361.13, after a 0.7% gain on Thursday. The index is looking for a loss of almost 1% in the week so far. Elsewhere, the German DAX 30 DAX,
rose 0.2%, the French CAC 40 PX1,
rose 0.5% and the FTSE 100 UKX Index,
It gained 0.78%.
Europe was pushing higher as US stock futures fell, with those of the Dow Jones Industrial Average YM00,
Down more than 200 points. Wall Street stocks ended higher in a late rally on Thursday.
Banks could weigh on that index, with JP Morgan Chase & Co. JPM,
down in pre-trade. After the close of the US markets on Thursday, the latest Federal Reserve stress tests found that most will remain well capitalized even in the toughest Covid-19 scenarios. But the buyback was suspended until the third quarter and dividend payments will be limited to preserve capital.
US coronavirus cases approached a record high Thursday, and states like Texas were forced to delay reopens, with that state and other single-day case records this week.
However, the “recent action by the Texas governor to halt new reopening efforts” is seen as a “step in the right direction to end the current increase in Covid-19,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, in a note. to the clients
Elsewhere, the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, said that the worst of the coronavirus crisis may have ended for the world, but that the road ahead would not be an easy one. “That recovery will be incomplete and could be transformative,” he said, during the Northern Light Summit online on Friday, according to CNBC.
Shares of H&M SE HM.B,
It fell 1.7% after the Swedish retailer said second-quarter sales fell 50% and was reduced to a loss of SEK3.02 per share as the pandemic forced it to close 80% of stores. during the worst shutdown. But the retailer said online sales in local currencies were up 32%, and that total sales “have gradually begun to recover” at stores that reopened.
Shares of British grocer Tesco PLC TSCO,
It increased 1% after reporting an almost 8% increase in comparable sales growth in the first quarter.
Shares of SAP SE SAP heavily weighted,
SAP,
increased 1.6%.
Wirecard AG WDI,
Another 41% plummeted, a day after the payment system provider said it was filing for insolvency amid an accounting scandal. Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. may revoke the German company’s ability to process payments, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing sources. Those companies told Bloomberg that they are closely monitoring developments with Wirecard.
.
