European companies are falling behind their US counterparts in their second-quarter earnings, as the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade war frustrates investors who had bet heavily on a revival for the region’s stock markets.
With more than half of the companies in the Stoxx Europe 600 having reported earnings, the index is on track for no earnings growth compared with a year ago, according to Bank of America, sapping optimism over a revival in the region’s equity markets.
By contrast, the S&P 500 index’s constituents are on track to post 9 per cent year-on-year average earnings growth, according to BofA, powered largely by strong results from Silicon Valley’s tech giants and Wall Street banks.