Hyma Laya schreef op 20 april 2020 10:12:
08:00 (20/04) - Bron: Reuters "Fasten your seatbelt," said Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays. "The final numbers will likely be
worse as the global economy has come to a standstill, which might not be fully factored into consensus."
Barclays and Citi expect a 40% to 50% slide in profits and dividends by the end of the year.
Yet, market moves suggest some risks have been put to one side. The STOXX 600 has bounced 22% from lows in mid-March, when the virus was spreading fast in Europe and lockdowns were being put in place, although the index is still down 26% this year.
"I suspect that after the bounce we had in the market in the past couple of weeks we could see a reality check with earnings forcing the market to focus more on fundamentals," Cau said.
As companies report dire first quarter figures, investors will scrutinise balance sheets and comments by executives on their plans for restructuring or for any temporary or permanent layoffs to see how well firms can cope with what some analysts say could be the deepest recession since World War II.