Stocks, news, data and earnings

Valeo CEO Christophe Perillat discusses the company’s earnings as the French auto parts maker received record orders last year, and forecasts growth next year.

The German economy contracted by 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the German Statistical Office He said Fridaydespite initial estimates pointing to a 0.2% drop in GDP.

The economy grew by 0.8%, 0.1% and 0.5% in the previous three quarters, while year-on-year growth was confirmed at 1.8%.

ING analyst Carsten Brzeski said in a note that while the economy has held up due to fiscal support and a warm winter, it “certainly does not guarantee a strong recovery anytime soon.”

He said signs of weakness include two consecutive declines in a measure of current business sentiment, weak consumer confidence and a decline in the manufacturing PMI, which prompted the Dutch bank to forecast another economic contraction in the first quarter.

“Celebrating resilience was a bit premature. A tech recession is in the making,” he wrote.

Germany’s DAX fell 0.4% at midday in Berlin.

– Jenny Reed

material company Holcim mentioned It posted net sales of 29.1 billion Swiss francs ($31.3 billion) and a 44% increase in net income to 3.3 billion francs, ahead of expectations.

It was a “very strong year in operating cash flow” but the company has been challenged by input cost inflation, which he believes has peaked, CEO Jan Genisch told CNBC.

“There is no stagnation in Holcim,” he said. “We have very good order books, and we’re running strong this year while in Europe there’s already been a downturn since the first half of last year.”

The Swiss company also announced that Genich will become its next president once his successor is appointed.

Shares of the company were down 0.6% at 11 am in London.

Sreedhar N., Chief Financial Officer at Saint-Gobain, discusses the company’s earnings for the full year.

Swedish medical company Elekta led the shares in morning trade, up 9.1% afterward Third quarter results Showed higher sales and profits.

Compagnie de Saint-Gobain and Rolls-Royce also extended gains after beating analyst expectations in results yesterday.

At the bottom of European stocks, chemical giant BASF fell 5.5% after announcing it would cut 2,600 jobs and halt share buybacks amid falling profits.

– Jenny Reed

European markets had a strong start to Friday, with the Stoxx 600 up 0.4% shortly after the open.

France’s CAC 40 rose 0.6% as Germany’s DAX and Britain’s FTSE 100 both added about 0.3%. Construction stocks led the sector’s gains, up 0.9%.

European markets saw a slightly higher open on Friday.

The FTSE 100 was set to gain 15 points, the French CAC 40 to gain 29.7 points, the German DAX to gain 28 points and the Italian MIB to gain 142.5 points.

After struggling earlier in the week, the Stoxx 600 closed up 0.1% on Thursday.

– Jenny Reed

Big Tech’s dominant position and its critical role in the enterprise software ecosystem makes it an ideal acquisition during a downturn in the global economy, said Mark Houghton, chief investment officer at Zurich-based GAM Investments.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Ganesh Rao

China’s reopening has been seen as a major tailwind for stock markets this year, and Bernstein has shared a list of stock picks to take advantage of — which she says also offer downside protection.

“We collaborate with our sector analysts to highlight 30 stocks that look well positioned to benefit from the tailwinds of China’s reopening, capitalizing on risk sentiment while not losing sight of the looming threat of a global recession,” Bernstein analysts, led by Jay Huang, wrote in their article. Note on February 20.

The bank said it favors laggards – It beat equities last year — providing “best exposure” this quarter in Asia. But he also urged investors to have some “defensive exposure” by holding high-yielding stocks to protect the downside in case the market turns more risky.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Xavier Ong