DE30 erases morning bounce and trades lower on the day

• European markets trade mostly higher on Thursday

• DE30 pulls back from 15,360 pts area

• BASF drops after Q1 earnings release

Majority of the European stock market indices trade higher on Thursday after Fed ruled out QE taper discussions at this point. Indices from Portugal and Austria are top performers from the Old Continent. On the other hand, German DAX is the worst performing benchmark as it is the only European blue chips index to trade lower today. Volatility on stock markets may pick-up around 1:30 pm BST when US Q1 GDP data is released.

Source: xStation5

DE30 has managed to break above the 15,310 pts resistance zone yesterday and tested a resistance zone marked with 61.8% retracement of recent correction (15,360 pts). However, after a brief trading between 15,310 and 15,360 pts, the index has once again turned lower. Strong downward move followed the opening of today's European cash trading and DE30 pulled back below the 15,310 pts. 15,250-15,310 pts trading range looks to be back in play. Nevertheless, traders should keep in mind that the index made a few false breakouts from the range recently therefore any upside breakout should be watched with caution unless the index breaks above the aforementioned 15,360 pts. The same can be said with downside breaks below the lower limit of the range at 15,250 pts - unless DE30 breaks below the 15,180 pts mark, bears should stay on guard.

Company News

BASF (BAS.DE) reported Q1 revenue at €9.40 billion (exp €17.36 billion) and EPS of €2.00 (exp. €1.91). Adjusted EBIT reached €2.32 billion (exp €2.27 billion) while adjusted EBITDA came in at €3.18 billion (exp. €3.28 billion). Sales in the Surface Technologies sector were the biggest driver as they came in at €5.95 billion (exp €4.47 billion). BASF decided to boost full-year adjusted EBIT outlook to €5.0-5.8 billion, up from €4.1-5.0 billion earlier. Full-year revenue is seen at €68-71 billion, up from previous forecast of €61-64 billion.

Airbus (AIR.DE) reported Q1 revenue at €10.46 billion (exp. €10.42 billion) and net income of €362 million (exp. €389 million). EPS reached €0.46, compared to a median forecast of €0.54. Airbus reported a positive free cash flow of €1.2 billion for the January-March 2021 period. Company delivered 125 commercial aircraft during the quarter.

Lufthansa (LHA.DE) reported Q1 revenue at €2.56 billion (exp €2.49 billion) and a net loss of €1.05 billion (exp. -1.06 billion EUR). Adjusted EBIT loss came in at €1.14 billion (exp. -1.16 billion EUR). Company expects full-year capacity at around 40% of pre-pandemic levels.

BASF (BAS.DE) trades lower today following release of Q1 2021 earnings. Stock is pulling back from the upper limit of a recent short-term trading range towards the lower limit of the range. Support zone ranging near €69.00 handle is a key near-term level to watch should declines deepen. Source: xStation5