European stocks are heading for a flat open on Wednesday as market momentum wanes. Regional markets closed higher on Tuesday but are set to start today’s session around the flatline.
Investors will be keeping an eye out for Spanish inflation data and French consumer confidence figures for March on Wednesday, as well as a trading update from clothes retailer H&M.
Elsewhere overnight, U.S. stock futures were up modestly Tuesday night following a losing session on Wall Street that pulled the indexes further from record levels.
Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Wednesday as investors assessed economic data from China and Australia.
Swedish fashion group H&M on Wednesday posted lower year-on-year net sales of 53.7 billion Swedish krona ($5.069 billion) in the first quarter, while operating profit rose more than expected to 2.08 billion krona.
The company’s operating margin rose to 3.9% from 1.3%.
H&M’s board will propose a dividend of 6.5 krona per share in its May annual general meeting, and seek authorization for a buyback of its B shares.
“Development continued in the right direction in the first quarter with an improved gross margin and operating profit, lower inventory and strong cash flow,” said H&M Group CEO Daniel Ervér, who joined the company at the start of the year after the surprise resignation of Helena Helmersson.
H&M has come under pressure amid growing competition from Zara owner Inditex and Chinese fast fashion retailers such as Shein and has announced a focus on profitability over sales.
Big U.S. tech companies such as Nvidia, Microsoft and Alphabet have benefited from the artificial intelligence buzz in markets for the past year.
However many smaller firms along the global AI supply chain also stand to benefit.
BofA said in a March 15 note that there’s been a “booming” AI market with multiple AI solutions since the second half of 2023.
The bank named various parts of the supply chain that stand to benefit from AI and its top stocks in each category.
