AMSTERDAM/LONDON: European stocks edged lower on Thursday, with the travel sector leading declines on weak results from Britain’s Trainline, while food and beverage stocks hit a 14-month high on a batch of strong earnings.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.1% lower. The travel and leisure sector was the worst performer, falling 1.7% after UK rail operator Trainline reported an annual loss.
Heavyweight oil stocks were among the top drags on the STOXX 600 as oil prices slipped, while technology shares fell in tandem with their US peers.
Still, the bank’s optimistic view on a British economic recovery pushed the FTSE 100 0.5% higher to a more than 14-month peak.
More than half of the STOXX 600 companies have reported earnings so far and 73% of those have topped profit expectations, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Food and beverage stocks were the best performers for the day, pushed up by a 5.2% rise in Anheuser-Busch InBev after it reported first-quarter earnings ahead of expectations and said North America boss Michel Doukeris will replace Carlos Brito as chief executive officer.
Irish food processing firm Glanbia was the top gainer in the sector, after its first-quarter revenue rose more than 10%.
Italy’s No.2 bank UniCredit gained 5% and French lender Societe Generale rose 5.5% after reporting higher-than-expected quarterly earnings.
Telecom Italia slid 5.5% after a report suggesting the government is set to drop a plan to create a single broadband network.
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