Europe Stocks Rise Ahead of Bank of England Decision; Maersk Up 10%

European stock markets gained on Thursday, as investors analyzed earnings reports and awaited the Bank of England’s upcoming monetary policy decision.

• The Stoxx 600, a key regional benchmark, was up by 0.75% at 9:37 a.m. London time, with most sectors showing positive movement.
• Maersk, the shipping giant, experienced a 10.35% increase following the announcement of better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits, despite projecting a weaker performance for the year ahead.

Sector Performance and Notable Updates

• The Stoxx autos index recovered from early losses, rising 0.6% as investors continued to assess the potential effects of U.S. tariffs.
• Volvo Cars saw its stock decline by 9% after the company warned that 2025 would be a challenging year due to intensified competition from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers and a slowdown in market growth.
• Carlsberg, the Danish brewer, reported a slight miss in fourth-quarter sales and forecasted lower growth in 2025.

Earnings Reports

Several major companies reported their earnings on Thursday, including:

• ING
• ArcelorMittal
• AstraZeneca
• Ørsted
• Vinci
• L’Oreal
• Siemens Healthineers
• Telenor

Bank of England’s Anticipated Rate Cut

The Bank of England is expected to announce its first interest rate cut of the year later today, a move that is expected to have significant market implications.

Global Market Trends

• Asia-Pacific markets saw a mostly positive performance overnight, mirroring gains on Wall Street, as investors dismissed a week of trade-related volatility.
• U.S. stock futures showed little movement on Wednesday night following consecutive winning sessions in the major U.S. indexes.

Societe Generale Reports Strong Earnings

• Societe Generale experienced a 8.71% increase in shares early on Thursday, driven by robust quarterly and full-year profits.
• The French bank’s net income more than doubled to €1.04 billion for the fourth quarter. Over the full year, net income rose by 69% to €4.2 billion.
• The bank also announced a share buyback program of €872 million and proposed a €1.09 per share cash dividend, increasing its payout ratio to 50% of net income.
• For the upcoming year, Societe Generale aims for over 3% revenue growth and a Return on Tangible Equity exceeding 8%.

European Market Outlook

• The FTSE 100 led the European markets in early trading as sentiment continued to recover from a tariff-related sell-off earlier in the week.
• The Stoxx 600 index rose by 0.68%, reflecting positive momentum across European stocks.