The Dow Jones tumbled over 360 points on Friday, the S&P 500 erased earlier gains to close 0.5% lower while the Nasdaq added nearly 0.4% amid mixed corporate results. Also, fresh data showed that the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation rose 0.3% month-on-month, the most since May, while personal spending topped estimates while income was slightly lower than expected. On the corporate front, shares of Amazon surged 6.8% after beating on earnings, and supported by bullish comments around AI. Intel jumped 9.3% after the company topped profit and sales estimates. Conversely, Ford plunged 12.2% after missing quarterly estimates and lowering its guidance due to the UAW strike. Chevron (-6.7%) and Exxon Mobil (-1.8%) dropped after their quarterly results disappointed. On the week, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lost 2.4% and the Dow fell 1.9%.
European equity markets extended their losses on Friday afternoon, with Frankfurt's DAX 40 falling to a fresh 10-month low of 14,675 points. Additionally, the pan-European STOXX 600 dropped 0.9% to 429 points, which is also the lowest level since early January, as investors assessed a slew of corporate earnings reports. Notably, Covestro and MTU Aero Engines both reported third-quarter revenues that fell short of market expectations. Meanwhile, France's Sanofi and Air France-KLM also disappointed with results that didn't meet the anticipated consensus, while British lender NatWest downgraded its full-year profit outlook. Shifting the focus to European economic data, Spain's economy expanded by 0.3% in the third quarter compared to the previous three-month period, slightly surpassing the forecasted growth of 0.2%. Additionally, France experienced an unexpected improvement in consumer confidence during October. For the week, the DAX retreated 0.8% and the STOXX 600 slid 1%.
The FTSE 100 closed 0.9% lower at 7,291 on Friday, the lowest in over two months. On the corporate front, NatWest plunged 11.6% after posting pessimistic corporate results, tracking the negative earnings season for other banks after Barclays and Standard Chartered both missed expectations. Meanwhile, airline conglomerate IAG lost 0.6% despite reporting a record third-quarter profit of €1.745 billion, driven by increased capacity, higher passenger unit revenue, and cost management. On the other hand, miners enjoyed some respite and limited losses for the broader index.
The CAC 40 index closed 1.36% lower at 6795 on Friday, hitting a nearly 11-month low, dragged down by disappointing domestic corporate earnings results. Sanofi was the biggest laggard, declining a staggering 18.8%, amid disappointing Q3 results and after abandoning its 32% operating profit margin for 2025. This comes along with the plan to enlist its consumer healthcare business as a separate entity, so it can focus on its core R&D drug business and commit to "long-term profitability". STMicroelectronics also dropped 3.7% after setting guidance below expectations for Q4. Also, Pernod Ricards fell 1.8% after cognac maker Remy Cointreau stated it expects sales to fall this year. Conversely, Worldline is the top performer (9%), ending in the green for a second session, following the 58.7% slump on Wednesday. Also, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield rose 3.4% after raising its profit target for 2023. On the week, the index lost 0.3%.
The FTSE MIB erased early gains to close 0.8% below the flatline at 27,287 on Friday, as investors continued their scrutiny of numerous corporate earnings reports. Moncler faced a 6.5% decline after its quarterly report showed a slowdown in the company's recent performance. Meanwhile, STMicroelectronics (-4%) underperformed as traders decided to take profits from the previous session. Conversely, Saipem (3.9%) rebounded from yesterday's losses following its quarterly report, while the banking sector, notably UniCredit (1.1%) and BPER Banca (1%), performed well. Eni (0.2%) also experienced a slight increase in its stock value after surpassing analysts' expectations for Q3 adjusted net profit, despite a decline in revenues and profitability. For the week, the Italian index registered a loss of 0.3%.
The IBEX 35 dropped by 0.5% to 8918 on Friday, erasing the earlier advances, as investors weighed the latest economic data and corporate results. Core PCE prices in the US rose as anticipated, while the headline PCE saw a slightly higher increase. Domestically, Spanish quarterly GDP growth beat estimates in the three months to September. The main laggards of the index were MAPFRE (-2.61%), FLUIDRA (-2.38%) and Inditex (-2.25%). The former insurer was punished after reporting a 3.6% less gain in January-September period. On the other hand, Banco Sabadell (3.58%) and Caixa Bank (2.26%) increased. Banco Sabadell received improvements in its target price from four analyst houses - JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Morgan Stanley, following the yesterday's record results. At the same time, Caixa Bank raised its net attributable profit by 48.2% yoy in the first nine months of 2023. Weekly, the index closed 1.2% lower.
