European stock exchanges in retreat, investors are waiting for new reports, statistics

April 20 (Reuters) – European stocks fell on Thursday after mixed reports from Wall Street companies as investors awaited new eurozone statistics and European companies’ quarterly results to gauge the strength of the region’s economy.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.34% by 12:00 Moscow time, while utility and auto stocks were down 1.4% and 3.4% respectively.

Index losses were limited by the banking sector, which increased by 0.35%.

The focus of investors’ attention today is the European Consumer Confidence Index, which will be published at 17:00 Moscow time. According to forecasts, the index will show a slight improvement in consumer expectations in April as compared to March.

Shares of Sartorius AG fell 11% after the laboratory equipment maker reported lower revenues and profits in the first quarter of 2023.

AB Volvo rose 1.8% as the Swedish automaker raised its forecast for heavy-duty truck sales in key European and North American markets for this year on Thursday.

The original message in English is available under the code: (Shubham Batra in Bangalore, translated by Tomas Kanik)