Stocks, data, news and earnings

The euro was up 0.35% against the dollar at $1.0613 at midday London time after Wednesday’s sharp losses stemming from a sell-off in European banks.

It was 0.4% higher against the British pound.

The Swiss Franc also rose against the dollar, as investors reacted to the news that the Swiss National Bank would provide financial support to the beleaguered Credit Suisse.

Markets will also be looking forward to the ECB’s latest monetary policy announcement at 1:15pm, which will be followed by ECB President Christine Lagarde’s press conference.

A 50 basis point hike was widely expected although recent volatility has markets cutting bets on the possibility of that happening and Lagarde’s comments will be watched closely.

“If the ECB’s 50 basis point hike comes in an environment where markets are easing concerns about the banking sector thanks to support from the SNB, this could actually be read as a signal of confidence by Frankfurt about the health of banking in the eurozone. It could in Ultimately raise the euro.

– Jenny Reed

OBS Group, the parent company of OneSavings Bank, gained 9% in morning trade after reporting positive annual results.

Underlying profit before tax rose 13% year-on-year to a record 591.1 million pounds ($712.7 million), the company’s report said, mostly due to loan book growth.

Shares of pest control company Rentokil Initial rose slightly after revenue grew, following the company’s purchase of US rival Terminix. The company also raised its forecasts for revenue and cost savings for 2023, which contributed to a 7% increase in the share price.

Credit Suisse shares rose as much as 30% when European markets opened, but the gains narrowed to 18% at around 9.15am London time.

Credit Suisse shares rose after the bank said it would borrow up to $54 million from the Swiss National Bank.

– Hannah Ward Glinton

A strategist told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” Thursday that the weaker links in the banking sector are cracking.

Beat Wittmann, partner at Porta Advisors, discusses the crises facing Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank, and says, “It is really time for policymakers to restore confidence and liquidity in the system.”

European bank stocks rose during early trade on the news that Credit Suisse has secured a $54 billion lifeline from the Swiss National Bank.

Credit Suisse shares rose 30% before paring the gains to 23% at around 8.25am London time. UBS followed, up 4.9%, Commerzbank up 3.9%, Santander stock up 3.%, FinecoBank up 3.4%, and Barclays up 3.3%.

Banking stocks as a whole rose 1.8%.

– Hannah Ward Glinton

Credit Suisse shares rose 30% after the European market opened just after the Swiss National Bank said it would provide a liquidity cushion for the bank as regulators tried to calm fears of a crisis in the banking sector.

European markets opened higher on Thursday as regional investors breathed a sigh of relief after the Swiss National Bank said it would provide liquidity support to beleaguered Credit Suisse.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index opened up 1%. Most major sectors and stock exchanges opened positively, with gains led by banking stocks, which rose 2.8%. Oil and gas and retail stocks rose 1.6%.

– Hannah Ward Glinton

The chairman of Credit Suisse’s largest shareholder, the National Bank of Saudi Arabia, told CNBC’s Laughley Gamble that the recent market turmoil in the banking sector is “isolated” and stems from “a little bit of panic”.

“If you look at how the entire banking sector has fallen, unfortunately, a lot of people were just looking for excuses… It’s panic, a little bit of panic,” Ammar Al-Khudairi said on CNBC’s “Capital Connection.”

He added that Credit Suisse did not ask the National Bank of Saudi Arabia for financial assistance.

“There have been no discussions with Credit Suisse about providing assistance,” he said. “I don’t know where the word ‘help’ came from, and there haven’t been any discussions at all since October,” he said.

His comments come after Credit Suisse announced it would borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($53.68 billion) from the Swiss National Bank to boost liquidity and investor confidence after its share plunged on Wednesday.

– Jihe Lee

The Swiss Franc has been volatile following developments around Credit Suisse – it last strengthened 0.17% against the US dollar to pare earlier weakness after the lender announced it had borrowed nearly $54 billion from the Swiss National Bank.

The Japanese Yen also strengthened to trade at 132.86 against the Dollar. The Korean won rose 0.13% to 1311.24 against the US dollar.

– Jihe Lee

Credit Suisse announced that it will borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($53.69 billion) from the Swiss National Bank under a covered loan facility and a short-term liquidity facility.

The company said in a statement that the steps will support the core business of Credit Suisse customers as Credit Suisse takes the necessary steps to create a simpler and more focused bank built on customer needs. advertisement.

In addition, the bank is offering a cash tender offer in respect of 10 large US dollar-denominated debt notes for a total of up to $2.5 billion — as well as a separate offer for four large euro-denominated debt notes for up to a total of 500 million euros, the company said.

Read more here.

– Jihe Lee

European markets are set to rebound on Thursday after a choppy trading session on Wednesday that saw stocks drop sharply.

Britain’s FTSE 100 is expected to rise 73 points at 7,405, Germany’s DAX is up 217 points at 14,947, France’s CAC is up 118 points at 6,993, and Italy’s FTSE MIB is up 443 points at 25,517, according to data from IG.

The European Central Bank’s latest monetary policy decision is the focus of European markets on Thursday. The central bank is expected to announce a 50 basis point rate hike, as former ECB President Christine Lagarde noted, as inflation remains high.

– Holly Ellytt