European markets to open lower; EDF, Sanofi, Heineken report gains

European markets are set to begin the week on the back foot, with all major bourses expected to open in the red.

The German DAX is set to fall the furthest, opening 85 points lower at 12,787. In the U.K., the FTSE is seen 42 points lower at 7,662 while in France the CAC is expected to begin trade 37 points lower at 5,474, according to IG.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday due to poor earnings reports from Intel and Twitter, despite the domestic economy recording strong second-quarter economic growth of 4.1 percent. Asian stocks headed south on Monday morning, tracking the U.S.

In the latest Brexit-related development, Deutsche Bank has moved nearly half of its euro clearing activities from London to Frankfurt, according to a report from the Financial Times on Sunday. The news fuels Deutsche Boerse’s designs to poach business from London Clearing House after the U.K. divorces from the European Union in March.

Corporate earnings season is in full swing, with multiple European firms set to release their second-quarter figures on Monday. From France, this includes energy provider EDF and pharmaceuticals firm Sanofi, as well as Dutch beer brewer Heineken.

In other corporate news, BMW is to become the first major carmaker to hike prices on U.S.-built vehicles it exports to China as the implications of the ongoing global trade war start to trickle through to consumers.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is to visit President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, while British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is to meet China’s Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing.

European data to be published include Germany’s inflation rate for July, as well as the Belgian and Swedish gross domestic product growth rates.

U.S. firms set to publish their latest earnings data include AK Steel, Bloomin’ Brands and Caterpillar.

Source: CNBC

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