DE40: European stocks return to declines; Novo Nordisk and L'Oreal in focus 💡

General market situation:

Markets resume standard trading after the Easter break. US stock index futures are trading higher. However, we are seeing a slightly different mood in Europe, as the declines observed yesterday on Wall Street are taking hold here. The German DAX is currently losing 0.71%, while the French CAC40 is down 0.73%.

The most important events of the day will be the quarterly results of Tesla and SAP. Macroeconomic data from the Polish labor market, numerous speeches by FED and ECB bankers (including Lagarde) and the industrial price index from Canada.

Distribution of today's returns of companies from Europe. Source: xStation

The German DE40 index is losing 0.47% today on an intraday basis. The contract is holding around the 100-day EMA (purple line) and the local highs from April 9 and 10, which are a point of technical resistance. Source: xStation

News:

Novo Nordisk (NOVOB.DK) shares fell Tuesday after Eli Lilly (LLY.US) reported results for a new pill that could match the weight-loss potential of the Danish giant’s blockbuster injections. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly currently dominate the weight-loss market, but their drugs are administered as injections. Both companies are working on pill versions that are said to be more convenient for patients, as well as easier to transport and store because they don’t require refrigeration. Lilly’s drug helped patients lose an average of 7.9% of their body weight at the highest dose. Novo Nordisk shares fell as much as 9.8% in early European trading.

Source: xStation

L’Oreal (OR.FR) shares are up 3.6% after the cosmetics maker’s comparable sales growth beat analysts’ expectations. Investors were also quieted by relatively positive comments from the company’s CEO. The CEO expects sales and profit growth in the fiscal year.

Q1 RESULTS

• Like-for-like sales +3.5%, estimated +1.26%
• Consumer products like-for-like sales +2.3%, estimated +1.44%
• North America like-for-like sales -3.8%, estimated -0.64%
• North Asia like-for-like sales +6.9%, estimated -3.01%
• Europe like-for-like sales +4.3%, estimated +2.53%
• South Asia Pacific, Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa like-for-like sales +10.4%, estimated +8.45%
• Latin America like-for-like sales +7.9%, estimated +6.77%
• Currency impact +0.4%
• Sales €11.73bn, +4.4% y/y, estimated €11.45bn

More news from German companies. Source: Bloomberg Financial LP