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European stocks traded mixed on Wednesday as investors weighed up fresh earnings from BMW AG, whose shares tumbled after a warning over 2020 and data revealing a sharp drop in German factory orders.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, +0.16% rose 0.2% to 336.11, after breaking a three-day losing streak on Tuesday with a 2.1% gain, the biggest since April 17. The German DAX 30 index DAX, -0.13% was flat, the French CAC 40 index PX1, -0.27% fell 0.1% and the FTSE 100 index UKX, +0.44% rose 0.4%.
Investors continue to keep an eye on the fallout from coronavirus and progress of European countries and the U.S. amid efforts to get economies back up and running. Deaths in the U.K. have now exceeded those of Italy, making its fatality toll the highest in Europe.
Germany reported a 15% fall in factory orders in March, the biggest drop since the series began in January 1991.
But U.S. equity futures pointed to a stronger start, with Dow futures YM00, +0.49% gaining over 100 points. In an interview late Tuesday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. needs to push to get the economy running even if it means more deaths from the outbreak.
Data due later is expected to show 20 million U.S. private-sector jobs were lost in April, according to economists polled by Econoday. Coronavirus shutdowns have pushed jobless claims to 30 million, and Friday’s April nonfarm payrolls data is expected to be one of the worst on record.
The mood was lifted after President Donald Trump said the economy needs to get up and running even if it means more deaths from the outbreak.
Responding to a German court ruling that gave the European Central Bank three months to justify its Public Sector Purchase Programme, the ECB said it would continue to do all that was needed to revive inflation. The central bank added that the European Court of Justice ruled in December 2018 that it was “acting within its price stability mandate.”
Shares of BMW BMW, -2.73% fell nearly 5% after the German car maker said it expects significantly lower profits in 2020, with the biggest impact coming in the second quarter from the coronavirus.
Pharmaceutical shares were among the gainers, with Novo Nordisk AS NOVO.B, +2.05% climbing 1.4% after the Danish company’s first-quarter earnings beat forecasts as patients in the U.S. and Europe stockpiled drugs amid the pandemic.
Shares of AstraZeneca PLC AZN, +1.48% AZN, +2.13% rose 1.4% after the drugmaker said its heart failure treatment, Farxiga, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Dialog Semiconductor PLC’s DLG, +5.53% shares jumped Wednesday after the chip maker reported results for the first quarter of 2020 at the high end of guidance.
Away from the main indexes, shares of Norwegian Air Shuttle NAS, -10.25% slid 12% after it offered up to 571,428,571 new shares at a deep discount, aimed at raising 300 to 400 million krone ($29 million to $38 million). The airline is battling to stay afloat during the pandemic and a near collapse of air traffic. The offer prices is set at 1 krone, compared with the 4.21 krone it was trading at on Wednesday.
