EUROPEAN and Wall Street stock markets were largely flat yesterday after some losses in Asia, as investors awaited earnings from US tech behemoths this week.

Bourses in New York, London, Frankfurt and Paris dipped in and out of negative territory throughout the day.

All eyes will be on results from the likes of Amazon, Facebook owner Meta, Google-parent Alphabet and Microsoft.

“The first quarter earnings reporting period will go into hyperdrive this week, which is partly why things are starting today at a slow pace,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

The US calendar also includes readings on first-quarter gross domestic product and an update on consumer confidence.

German business confidence edged up in April, a survey showed, but the rise was weaker than expected.

Manufacturers have been boosted in the short term by lower energy prices – which had surged last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – and the reopening of China’s economy after long Covid shutdowns.

But the Germany economy was still “far away from strong growth” and it would “continue its flirtation with recession,” warned ING economist Carsten Brzeski.

Also this week, investors will be watching important economic data from South Korea, Australia and the eurozone, as well as Bank of Japan chief Kazuo Ueda’s approach as he chairs his first key policy meeting. 

In parliament yesterday, Ueda suggested the bank would stay the course in terms of monetary stimulus, adding that inflation was expected to cool below 2% in the second half of the fiscal year ending next March. 

Bank trouble

Elsewhere on the corporate front, Credit Suisse revealed that more than US$68 (RM301) billion was withdrawn in the first three months of 2023, in what are likely its final quarterly results before it is swallowed by rival UBS. 

The bank saw its net profit swell to US$13.9 billion – up from a significant loss a year earlier – after holders of high-risk Credit Suisse debt were wiped out in the emergency takeover deal. 

The problems at Credit Suisse will continue to prompt fallout across the banking sector, said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

“It’s set to be a big week for the UK banking sector in the wake of the problems thrown up by the collapse of Credit Suisse and subsequent turmoil across the sector,” he said.

“This morning investors got the first look below the bonnet so to speak and it wasn’t a pretty sight…. not so much a bank run as a sprint.”

Later yesterday, First Republic Bank, reported a more than 40% drop in its deposits in the first quarter this year, but added that the situation has stabilised since late March.

Shares fell more than 20% in after-hours trading, following its first earnings report since the dramatic failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last month shone a spotlight on regional lenders and their vulnerabilities

Key figures around 2130 GMT

New York - Dow: UP 0.2% at 33,875.40 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.1% at 4,137.04 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.3% at 12,037.20 (close)

London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,912.20 (close)

Frankfurt - DOWN 0.1% at 15,863.95 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 7,573.86 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2% at 4,401.80 (close) 

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1% at 28,593.52 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6% at 19,959.94 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8% at 3,275.41 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at US$1.1050 from US$1.0986 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at US$1.2485 from US$1.2432

Dollar/yen: DOWN at  ¥134.14 from  ¥134.16

Euro/pound: UP at 88.46 pence from 88.37 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1% at US$78.76 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.3% at US$82.73 per barrel – AFP, April 25, 2023.