European stocks end marginally higher as banks find relief

By Victor Reklaitis and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

AFP/Getty Images

Don’t look for Aggreko to power the Stoxx Europe 600 higher on Wednesday.

Europe’s main stock benchmark eked out a small gain on Wednesday, as a rally in bank shares offset double-digit slides by power generator provider Aggreko PLC and Swiss money manager GAM Holdings AG.

The Stoxx Europe 600 /zigman2/quotes/210599654/delayed XX:SXXP +1.84% ended 0.11 points, or 0.03%, higher at 335.58, after darting in and out of losses throughout the session.

Among biggest decliners, GAM shares /zigman2/quotes/208155502/delayed CH:GAM -0.83%  dived 13% as the company said a drop in performance fees helped cut profit almost in half, offering a fresh sign that choppy markets are hurting investment managers.

Shares in Aggreko /zigman2/quotes/210267838/delayed UK:AGK +1.31%  also tumbled 13% after the U.K. company reported a 40% slide in first-half pretax profit as lower oil prices continued to hit a number of its markets.

Lenders: However, bank shares overall were stabilizing after recent drubbings, which came as stress-test and regulatory concerns weighed on the sector. The Stoxx Europe 600 Bank index /zigman2/quotes/210599339/delayed XX:SX7P +1.00% climbed 1.8%, its first rise in three sessions.

Shares in ING Groep NV /zigman2/quotes/203351007/delayed NL:INGA +1.99%  jumped 8.2% after the Dutch bank said underlying net profit rose 27%.

Meanwhile, Société Générale SA /zigman2/quotes/206663756/delayed FR:GLE +1.19% tacked on 3.2% after the French lender reported a jump in second-quarter net profit, helped by its sale of its Visa Europe stake.

London-based HSBC PLC /zigman2/quotes/203901799/delayed UK:HSBA -1.42% /zigman2/quotes/208272822/composite HSBC -1.14% /zigman2/quotes/202687335/delayed HK:5 -2.93% pushed 4.5% higher. The lender said it would spend up to $2.5 billion to buy back shares in this year’s second half, though it also posted a 40% plunge in second-quarter net profit.

Credit Suisse Group AG /zigman2/quotes/205269278/delayed CH:CSGN +1.94%   /zigman2/quotes/202835784/composite CS +1.73%  climbed 0.9%, partly rebounding from a 6.2% slump on Tuesday that came after news the Swiss lender along with Deutsche Bank /zigman2/quotes/205584254/delayed DE:DBK +2.40%   /zigman2/quotes/203042512/composite DB +2.93%  are being kicked out of the Stoxx Europe 50 index /zigman2/quotes/210599266/delayed XX:SX5P +1.81%  next week. Deutsche Bank fell 0.3% on Wednesday.

The euro and economic news: The euro /zigman2/quotes/210561242/realtime/sampled EURUSD -0.2490%  was lower, at $1.1178 from $1.122 late Tuesday. The shared currency rose to a five-week high on Tuesday.

A final July reading for a composite purchasing managers index for the eurozone came in at 53.2, above expectations and better than the flash reading of 52.9.

Click to Play

Obama, Singapore prime minister push trade deal

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on his first state visit to the U.S. that he hopes Congress will ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which has stalled. Photo: Getty Images

National indexes: Germany’s DAX 30 /zigman2/quotes/210597999/delayed DX:DAX +1.64%  gained 0.3% to 10,170.21. France’s CAC 40 /zigman2/quotes/210597958/delayed FR:PX1 +1.57%  lost 0.2% to 4,321.08, while the U.K’s FTSE 100 /zigman2/quotes/210598409/delayed UK:UKX +1.62%  inched 0.2% lower to 6,634.40.

/zigman2/quotes/210599654/delayed

Add to watchlist XX:SXXP

STOXX Europe 600 Index

XX : STOXX

412.44

+7.45 +1.84%

Volume: 0.00

March 1, 2021 11:03p

/zigman2/quotes/208155502/delayed

Add to watchlist CH:GAM

GAM Holding AG

CH : Switzerland: SWX

CHF 2.38

-0.02 -0.83%

Volume: 1.08M

March 1, 2021 5:31p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

CHF374.39 million

Rev. per Employee

CHF981,027

/zigman2/quotes/210267838/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:AGK

Aggreko PLC

UK : U.K.: London

810.50 p

+10.50 +1.31%

Volume: 315,553

March 1, 2021 4:35p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

1.85%

Market Cap

£2.04 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/210599339/delayed

Add to watchlist XX:FX7

STOXX Europe 600 Banks Index EUR

XX : STOXX

122.83

+1.22 +1.00%

Volume: 0.00

March 1, 2021 11:03p

/zigman2/quotes/203351007/delayed

Add to watchlist NL:INGA

ING Groep N.V.

NL : Netherlands: Euronext Amsterdam

€ 9.22

+0.18 +1.99%

Volume: 20.75M

March 1, 2021 5:35p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

€35.25 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/206663756/delayed

Add to watchlist FR:GLE

Societe Generale S.A.

FR : France: Euronext Paris

€ 20.78

+0.25 +1.19%

Volume: 3.57M

March 1, 2021 5:35p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

2.65%

Market Cap

€16.11 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/203901799/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:HSBA

HSBC Holdings PLC (UK Reg)

UK : U.K.: London

420.15 p

-6.05 -1.42%

Volume: 21.21M

March 1, 2021 4:35p

P/E Ratio

28.03

Dividend Yield

2.56%

Market Cap

£86.81 billion

Rev. per Employee

£257,711

/zigman2/quotes/208272822/composite

Add to watchlist HSBC

HSBC Holdings PLC ADR

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 29.37

-0.34 -1.14%

Volume: 2.24M

March 1, 2021 4:00p

P/E Ratio

30.22

Dividend Yield

2.54%

Market Cap

$121.37 billion

Rev. per Employee

$333,047

/zigman2/quotes/202687335/delayed

Add to watchlist HK:0005

HSBC Holdings PLC (HK Reg)

HK : Hong Kong

HK$ 44.75

-1.35 -2.93%

Volume: 26.64M

March 2, 2021 1:30p

P/E Ratio

29.90

Dividend Yield

2.60%

Market Cap

HK$941.52 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$2.56M

/zigman2/quotes/205269278/delayed

Add to watchlist CH:CSGN

Credit Suisse Group AG

CH : Switzerland: SWX

CHF 13.38

+0.26 +1.94%

Volume: 7.31M

March 1, 2021 5:31p

P/E Ratio

12.70

Dividend Yield

2.19%

Market Cap

CHF31.58 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/202835784/composite

Add to watchlist CS

Credit Suisse Group AG ADR

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 14.70

+0.25 +1.73%

Volume: 1.60M

March 1, 2021 4:00p

P/E Ratio

13.47

Dividend Yield

0.80%

Market Cap

$34.88 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/205584254/delayed

Add to watchlist DE:DBK

Deutsche Bank AG

DE : Germany: Frankfurt

€ 10.49

+0.25 +2.40%

Volume: 66,054

March 1, 2021 8:59p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

N/A

Rev. per Employee

€417,912

/zigman2/quotes/203042512/composite

Add to watchlist DB

Deutsche Bank AG

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 12.63

+0.36 +2.93%

Volume: 3.78M

March 1, 2021 4:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

$25.59 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

/zigman2/quotes/210599266/delayed

Add to watchlist XX:SX5P

STOXX Europe 50 Index

XX : STOXX

3,181.15

+56.64 +1.81%

Volume: 0.00

March 1, 2021 11:03p

/zigman2/quotes/210561242/realtime/sampled

Add to watchlist EURUSD

Euro

US : Tullett Prebon

1.2019

-0.0030 -0.2490%

Volume: 0.0000

March 2, 2021 12:45a

/zigman2/quotes/210597999/delayed

Add to watchlist DX:DAX

DAX

DX : Xetra Indices

14,012.82

+226.53 +1.64%

Volume: 69,566

March 1, 2021 6:30p

/zigman2/quotes/210597958/delayed

Add to watchlist FR:PX1

CAC 40 Index

FR : France: Euronext Paris

5,792.79

+89.57 +1.57%

Volume: 83,783

March 1, 2021 6:05p

/zigman2/quotes/210598409/delayed

Add to watchlist UK:UKX

FTSE 100 Index

UK : FTSE UK

6,588.53

+105.10 +1.62%

Volume: 692,321

March 1, 2021 4:53p