This is CNBC's live blog covering European markets.
European markets were mixed Tuesday as a flurry of earnings and key data points were released.
The regionalStoxx 600index was little changed and traded 0.01% lower at 12:17 a.m. London time.
Most sectors declined slightly, with autos falling 2.26% and insurance stocks dipping 0.76%. Food and beverage stocks were one of the only sectors in the green, last up 0.72%.
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Preliminary data showed that euro zone inflation held steady at 2.4% in April, in line with estimates. Core inflation, which strips out energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, came in at 2.7%.
Meanwhile, gross domestic product for the bloc rose 0.3% over the first three months of the year, following a 0.1% contraction in the last quarter of 2023.
Overnight, Asia-Pacific markets largely rose on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street moves, with investors eyeing China manufacturing purchasing managers' index for April.
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Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures were little changed after a positive start to the week, as investors brace for megacap earnings, the latest Federal Reserve interest rate decision on Wednesday, and a jobs report.
The U.S. central bank is broadly expected to keep interest rates steady, but traders will be listening to see if Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments are more hawkish afterthe recent spate of hotter inflation reports.
Euro higher on GDP, inflation data
The euro was 0.1% higher against the U.S. dollar at 11:36 a.m. in London, pushing past broader strength in the greenback after the euro zone economy rebounded from a recession with 0.3% growth in the first quarter.
Figures out Tuesday also showed headline inflation remaining steady at 2.4%, which economists said reinforced the case for the European Central Bank to begin cutting interest rates in June.
Support for the euro came from the combination of better-than-expected growth and a slightly higher core inflation rate than forecast, which suggest a "less urgent" need for accomodative monetary policy from the ECB beyond June, Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank, told CNBC by email.
The euro was up 0.22% against the British pound at 0.855.
— Jenni Reid
Euro zone inflation holds steady, GDP rises 0.3%
Euro zone inflation held steady at 2.4% in April, preliminary data published Tuesday showed. This was in line with estimates. Prices rose 0.6% on a monthly basis.
Core inflation, which strips out energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, came in at 2.7% in April, slightly lower than March's reading of 2.9%.
Meanwhile, gross domestic product for the bloc rose 0.3% over the first three months of the year, following a 0.1% contraction in the last quarter of 2023.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Air France-KLM report operating loss, say they plan to cut costs
Airline group Air France-KLM on Tuesday said its operating loss in the first quarter totalled 489 million euros ($525 million), citing costs associated with disruptions and a slower cargo business.
"We nonetheless remain confident in our ability to achieve our 2024 unit cost outlook," group CEO Benjamin Smith said.
Group unit cost rose 4% in the first quarter, but is expected to come in at 1-2% for the full year, the company said, adding that measures including a support staff hiring freeze would be taken to reduce expenses.
Air France-KLM shares were last down 3.4% at 11:04 London time.
Fellow Airline group Lufthansa, which also reported first quarter earnings on Tuesday, likewise said it would cut costs by halting new projects, cutting operational costs and closely assessing the need for additional administrative staff.
— Sophie Kiderlin
HSBC CEO Noel Quinn to step down in unexpected move
HSBC on Tuesday announced the surprise departure of Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn, who held the position for nearly five years.
Quinn will remain as Group CEO as the bank begins searching for his successor.
"The Board would like to pay tribute to Noel's leadership of the Company. Noel has had a long and distinguished 37-year career at the Bank and we are very grateful for his significant contribution to the Group over many years," said Group Chairman Mark Tucker.
"During his tenure, HSBC has delivered record profits and the strongest returns in over a decade," said Aileen Taylor, group company secretary and chief governance officer in HSBC.
The bank also announced first-quarter earnings that beat market expectations on Tuesday. Its London shares were almost 4% higher at 10:24 London time.
— Lim Hui Jie
German gross domestic product rises 0.2% in first quarter
Germany's gross domestic product increased by 0.2% in the first three months of 2024 from the previous quarter, the country's federal statistics office said Tuesday. The figure is seasonally and calendar adjusted.
The GDP growth was attributed to investment in construction and in exports, the statistics office said.
Germany's GDP had declined by a revised 0.5% in the last three months of 2023.
A 0.1% GDP rise in the third quarter narrowly prevented Germany from entering a technical recession, which would be characterized by declines in two consecutive quarters.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Volkswagen profit drops 20% in first quarter on lower sales
German carmaker Volkswagen on Tuesday said its operating profit dropped by 20% in the first quarter as weaker demand for its premium brands drove a drop in sales.
Operating profit came in at 4.6 billion euro ($4.9 billion) in the first three months of 2024, the company said. Operating profit had been 5.7 billion euros over the same time period in 2023.
Europe-traded shares of Volkswagen were last down 2.19% at 8:59 London time.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Jeep-maker Stellantis reports sharp fall in revenue as it shifts car portfolio
Global automakerStellantison Tuesdayreporteda 12% decline in revenue in the first quarter, citing lower sales and foreign exchange effects, even as net pricing held firm.
Shares of Stellantis were down 1.6% as of 8:55 London time.
Chief Financial Officer Natalie Knight said year-over-year shipment and net revenue comparisons were difficult due to the company's transition to a "next generation product portfolio manufactured on new platforms."
— Jenni Reid
Europe markets open mixed
Europe stocks were mixed on Tuesday, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 index opening slightly lower and trading 0.07% lower at 8:20 a.m.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.38%, while France's CAC 40 was down by 0.1% and Germany's DAX was 0.1% lower.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Mercedes-Benz profit declines even as carmaker stands by pricing
German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz posted a 30% annual drop in first-quarter earnings before interest and tax to 3.863 billion euros ($4.13 billion) on Tuesday, coming in below a LSEG projection of 3.87 billion euros for the period.
Total unit sales at the group's Mercedes-Benz cars division declined by 8% to 462,978 units, with the company attributing the fall to model changes and supply chain bottlenecks in the Chinese market. Sales in the carmaker's Top-End category accounted for 14% of the first-quarter total, with the availability of top-end products curbed by model transition of the G-Class and the Mercedes-AMG derivatives of the E-Class and GLC.
"Current supply bottlenecks are on the way to easing in regard to the GLC and E-Class, with further improvements expected," the company said in its outlook disclosures. "Sales levels in the first quarter are seen as the trough, with second quarter volumes expected to be better."
Sales at the Mercedes-Benz Vans division meanwhile increased by 7% year-on-year to 105,425 vehicles in the first three months of the year, in what the company said was a new record for the first quarter.
"Mercedes-Benz wants to hold and defend pricing at current levels," the carmaker said, forecasting 2024 group revenue in line with the previous year and a 10-12% range in adjusted return on sales over the period.
— Ruxandra Iordache
Carlsberg posts narrow sales beat as CEO flags shaky consumer sentiment
Danish brewer Carlsberg posted higher sales in the first quarter, slightly outperforming analyst expectations according to Reuters data.
Volumes rose by 0.2% year on year in Western Europe, by 3.1% in Asia and by 2.2% in Central and Eastern Europe and India, following an overall 0.5% decline in sales through 2023.
Revenue grew 4.4% to 17.1 billion Danish krona ($2.45 billion) in the quarter.
"If we look at the trading environment, we are definitely pleased with the beginning of the year," Carlsberg CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Tuesday.
"But there are still clouds hanging over us and the rest of the industry, it's a tough consumer sentiment out there, whether we're looking at our European businesses or our Asian businesses, we're not seeing the same positive consumer momentum we saw a couple of years ago," he added.
— Jenni Reid
CNBC Pro: This emerging market fund has outperformed over 1, 5 and 10 years. Here's how
Aubrey Capital's Global Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund has achieved impressive returns for many years. Over the past decade it's up 95.4%, compared to the 33.8% return posted by its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Market Index.
Mark Martyrossian, a director and head of distribution at Aubrey Capital, tells CNBC Pro how the fund has managed to perform so well.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
There's good news for equities in the week ahead, Bank of America says
Bank of America sees good news in the week ahead for equities, with risk skewed to the upside.
"Our economists see no sign of stagflation and expect a continued manufacturing recovery and strong job growth, which should be positive for stocks," wrote strategist Ohsung Kwon in a note from Monday.
Kwon elaborated that this week's manufacturing report should indicate that the manufacturing recession has ended. Additionally, Friday's April jobs report is also likely to indicate strength and "little sign of slowing momentum in the labor market," the strategist noted.
— Lisa Kailai Han
CNBC Pro: Dividends and buybacks are in the spotlight. Goldman Sachs names global stocks to play the theme
Balance sheets "look healthy," cash flow generation is "attractive," and dividends and buybacks are set to be resilient, Goldman Sachs says.
"Shareholder returns are poised to reach an all-time high," the bank said in an April 23 note.
But not all stocks offering buybacks and dividends are equal, Goldman said.
It highlighted its baskets of buyback stocks for a diversified strategy. This basket offers a high single-digit yield with roughly 4% via buybacks plus 4% via dividends — with a sector breakdown as close as possible to the market, said Goldman.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Weizhen Tan
16 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs
Sixteen stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs during Monday's trading session.
Of these names, nine stocks traded at their new all-time highs. These included:
- Chipotle Mexican Grill trading at all-time-high levels back to its initial public offering in January 2006
- Royal Caribbean trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in April 1993
- Tractor Supply trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in 1994 after being taken private by an LBO in 1982
- Goldman Sachs trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in May 1999
- Carrier Global trading at all-time highs back to its spin-off from United Technologies in March 2020
- Leidos Holdings trading at all-time-high levels back to the SAIC IPO in October 2006
- Trane Technologies trading at all-time-high levels back through Ingersoll Rand's history, before its recent merger with Gardner Denver
- Veralto trading at all-time highs back to its spin-off from Danaher in October 2023
- Amphenol trading at all-time-high levels since its IPO in 1991
— Lisa Kailai Han, Christopher Hayes
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are set to open in mixed territory Tuesday.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 2 points lower at 8,145, Germany's DAX down 8 points at 18,128, France's CAC 3 points lower at 8,051 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 13 points at 34,037, according to data from IG.
Earnings come from AF-KLM, Stellantis, Capgemini, Mercedes, VW, Lufthansa, Santander, Caixabank, OMV, HSBC, Glencore and Whitbread.
Data releases include preliminary euro zone inflation data for April and first-quarter gross domestic product figures for the single currency area.
— Holly Ellyatt
