European markets are expected to open in negative territory on Wednesday, with investors looking ahead to more earnings from a number of key companies.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 18 points lower at 8,555, Germany’s DAX down 67 points at 21,439, France’s CAC down 23 points at 7,888 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 91 points lower at 36,707, according to data from IG.
Earnings are set to come from Handelsbanken, TotalEnergies, Akzo Nobel, Credit Agricole, Novo Nordisk, GSK, Vestas Wind and Banco Santander, among others. On the data front, the latest purchasing managers’ index data from the euro zone will be confirmed on Wednesday.
Regional bourses were largely flat on Tuesday as investors continued to monitor developments in U.S. trade policy under President Donald Trump, and after the Chinese government announced tariffs on U.S. imports in retaliation against Trump’s new levies on Chinese goods.
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed overnight, with all eyes are on China after it resumed trading after the Lunar New Year holidays. Stateside, S&P 500 futures fell Tuesday night after Google-parent Alphabet posted disappointing revenue, following a positive session for the major averages.
Spanish lender Santander posted a 14% year-on-year increase in annual profit on Wednesday, with its full-year profit reaching 12.6 billion euros ($13.1 billion) in 2024. Full-year revenues in constant currency rose 10% from a year earlier to reach 62.2 billion euros.
The bank said it marked the third consecutive year of record financial results, with its performance driven by the addition of 8 million new customers and strong revenue growth across all of its global businesses.
It also announced it would launch a new 10 billion euro share buyback program, which would come from its 2025 and 2026 earnings and anticipated excess capital.
Santander said it was targeting 62 billion euros in revenue in 2025.
