European stocks weighed down by UBS' Archegos hit, BP surges

(Reuters) – European stocks were little changed on Tuesday following earnings from blue-chip companies such as HSBC and BP, while UBS become the latest bank to disclose a hit from dealing with U.S. investment firm Archegos.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.01% by 0707 GMT, with gains in oil & gas stocks offsetting losses in financial services firms.

UK’s FTSE 100 rose slightly as oil major BP jumped 2.6% after its first-quarter profit soared due to stronger oil prices and bumper revenue from natural gas trading.

Asia-focused lender HSBC gained 0.9% after it reported an upbeat quarterly profit as successful vaccine rollouts in key markets promised a brighter economic outlook.

However, UBS fell 3.5% as it took an unexpected $774 million hit from Archegos, taking the shine off a forecast-beating 14% rise in quarterly net profit.

Danish freight forwarder DSV Panalpina jumped 7.7% to the top of STOXX 600 after it agreed to buy the logistics division of Kuwait’s Agility Public Warehousing Co in a deal worth $4.1 billion.

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