Investors bid up Nike’s rivals Adidas and Puma in early European markets action, after their U.S. peer beat first-quarter earnings forecasts.
Adidas shares
ADS,
jumped 6%, and Puma stock
PUM,
rose 5%, after Nike
NKE,
reported better margins than forecast even though revenue met expectation.
JD Sports Fashion
JD,
shares also jumped 6% in London.
Analysts at JPMorgan led by Olivia Townsend said the read-across to the European sporting goods sector was better-than-expected demand in North America, a solid performance in Europe, expansion in gross margins and ongoing improvements in inventory levels.
The major European indexes also advanced on Friday, with the U.K. FTSE 100
UK:UKX,
German DAX
DX:DAX
and French CAC 40
FR:PX1
each sporting gains around 0.7%.
U.S. stock futures
ES00,
also edged higher ahead of the release of the PCE price index report later. The S&P 500
SPX
ended Thursday with a 0.6% rise.
