What you need to know before the open
A mixed open is expected for European markets this morning, following the choppy trading seen globally last week.
All eyes will be on Deutsche Bank, following its announcement that it plans to raise €8bn in new capital, and AstraZeneca’s latest announcement that it’s rejected Pfizer’s latest takeover bid.
Deutsche Bank’s move could impact what the European Central Bank does at next month’s policy meeting: a negative deposit rate could have the effect of making it harder for banks to up their profits.
Later this week, we’ve also got central bank minutes from both the Fed and Bank of England, along with the European Parliament elections across the bloc.
This morning, property website Rightmove has reported that May saw its highest ever house price rise – up 3.6 per cent month-on-month. That’s an annual rise of 8.9 per cent and puts the average price of a UK home at £272,003.
Corporate news
In addition to the AstraZeneca news:
Ryanair’s reported an eight per cent fall in post-tax profit, to €523m. A tougher environment meant it had to cut fares, which hit performance.
Dixons says it’s planning to sell it’s loss-making central European operations to NAY group, ahead of its £3.7bn merger with Carphone Warehouse.
And Babcock’s reported a 15 per cent jump in profit before tax to £3.2bn. A strong strategy, with successful acquisitions and contract wins have boosted performance. IT’s upping its total dividend for the year by 13 per cent, to 21.4p per share.
Data in focus
- 8.00am: German Buba president Weidmann speech
- 10.00am: EU March construction output