European Shares Set For Mixed Open After Draghi
European markets were expected to open with a mixed picture Friday, after falling Thursday in the light of disappointment over European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi’s comments.
The FTSE was predicted to open up 7 points at 5669, while the DAX was called 6 points lower at 6560, the CAC unchanged at 3234 and the IBEX, the main Spanish index, 3 points lower at 6370 after yesterday’s falls.
Draghi told journalists that the ECB “cannot replace governments” in a press conference following the ECB’s decision to keep interest rates on hold at 0.75 percent yet again Thursday.
His remarks disappointed investors who had been hoping for the ECB to prop up the euro zone via an immediate stimulus program.
Optimism had risen after Draghi said he would do “whatever it takes” to save the euro last week.
The latest euro zone PMI Services figures, released at 9 a.m. BST, will give some more clues to the current economic situation in the euro zone.
Italian banks UniCredit and Intesa SanPaolo both report Friday, and are expected to give some insight into how worries about the Italian economy are affecting them.
State-backed Royal Bank of Scotland in London is expected to give more guidance on what financial hit it is expecting from various scandals including the mis-selling of interest rate swaps and payment protection insurance when it reports interim results at 7 am BST. Reports this week have suggested both that it could be fully nationalized, and that the U.K. government is not considering nationalization.
IAG , the merged British Airways and Iberia which is one of the largest airlines in Europe, reports its interim results at 7a.m. BST.