European stocks subdued ahead of central bank speakers; Ryanair shines
Investing.com — European stock markets traded in a subdued fashion Monday, consolidating after last week’s strength as investors looked to central bank speakers for guidance.
At 03:45 ET (08:45 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.1% lower, the CAC 40 in France traded largely flat and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. fell 0.1%.
European equities posted strong gains last week, powered by a series of solid earnings and a perceived dovish tilt from central banks in the wake of several policy-setting meetings.
Trading has been muted at the start of the new week, with investors awaiting a host of ECB speakers this week, including President Christine Lagarde on Friday, in the search for clues pver the future of monetary policy.
Futures are currently implying an 80% probability the central bank will begin easing as soon as April as the region heads towards a recession.
There are also at least nine Fed speakers due this week, including two appearances by Chair Jerome Powell — the second of which on Thursday includes a Q&A session.
In corporate news, Ryanair (IR:RYA) stock rose almost 6% after Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers forecast a record annual profit and promised to pay investors a regular dividend for the first time after fares soared during its key summer season.
The carrier said traffic was up 11% to 105 million in the six months to the end of September, with fares 24% higher than last year.
Telecom Italia (BIT:TLIT) stock fell 1.6% after approving the sale of its fixed-line network to U.S. private equity firm KKR.
Melrose Industries (LON:MRON) stock rose 3.6%, after the British aerospace supplier said its unit GKN (LON:GKN) Aerospace Engines business has signed agreement with GE Aerospace expanding a long-term
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