Marketmind: No luck for China stocks, or for Barbie
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee
As the optimism around a rescue package for the bruised Chinese stock market ebbs, with investors still sceptical and awaiting an official response, trading in Asian hours meandered ahead of an earnings-packed European session.
China stocks started off the day with a bang but enthusiasm soon fizzled out, leaving the blue-chip index still rooted near five-year lows and the Shanghai Composite languishing near its lowest since 2020.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was the outlier and gained 1%, boosted by Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) on reports that Jack Ma has been scooping up the e-commerce giant's battered shares.
Sentiment on China remains rock-bottom and the collective shrug by investors to the report of a mooted $278 billion rescue package underscores the challenge ahead for Chinese authorities.
That keeps the focus during European hours on China-exposed luxury firms including LVMH, Kering (EPA:PRTP) and Richemont.
Futures indicate European bourses are set for a higher open, with traders eyeing manufacturing PMI data from the euro zone, UK, France and Germany that will paint a clearer picture of the economy ahead of the region's central bank meeting on Thursday.
The European Central Bank is widely expected to keep rates steady this time but traders are pricing in cuts of around 130 basis points this year, with a near 97% chance of the first reduction in June.
Earnings season has well and truly begun, with Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML (AS:ASML) due to report fourth-quarter earnings later in the day and will likely influence chipmaker stocks.
Tech stocks are likely to get a boost after Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) surged past subscriber
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