STOXX 600 earnings seen growing 7.3 in Q1 Refinitiv IBES
European stocks off highs
Net profit margins seen declining in Q3 Refinitiv IBES
Resilient consumer continues to absorb higher prices Bernstein

LONDON, May 19 Reuters Big European companies have delivered significantly stronger than expected firstquarter results, defying a challenging economic backdrop that includes surging inflation and rising interest rates.

But European stocks are down from a 14month high in April, as investors worry about the health of the global economy, falling customer demand and pressures building on profit margins.

About half of the STOXX 600 companies have reported firstquarter results and two thirds of them exceeded estimates, a stronger performance than in most quarters when about half of companies typically beat earnings estimates.

It39;s still the case, that a resilient consumer, supported by excess savings and a strong labour market continues to absorb higher prices and support corporate profitability, wrote Bernstein strategists Mark Diver and Sarah McCarthy.

While banks had to be rescued in the United States and in Switzerland, firstquarter results from the euro zone39;s biggest bank BNP Paribas, British lender Barclays and Germany39;s biggest bank Deutsche Bank all beat forecasts.

Consumer group Nestle and the maker of Dove soap and Ben Jerry39;s ice cream Unilever reported stronger than expected results as price increases offset lower volumes.

Europe39;s largest…