WEEKLY UPDATE – Stocks on the Stockholm exchange fell Friday as investors got ready for the upcoming report season.

Sweden as well as Europe’s main stock markets fell Friday after JP Morgan, the second- largest U.S. bank, posted revenue below analysts’ forecasts. The bank was the first of the largest U.S. banks to report earnings, making it a vital indicator.

However, JP Morgan’s fourth-quarter profit more than quadrupled, helped by strong results from its investment bank unit, and credit provisions increased.

“It’s a good report”, Martin Guri, equity strategist at Nordea, told The Swedish Wire, pointing at a positive declining trend regarding reservations for credit losses.

Europe's main stock markets traded mixed on Friday morning as investors braced for more key US earnings and after Tokyo hit a 15-month high and Wall Street rose overnight.

The OMX Stockholm 30 index was down o.30 percent at Friday 3 pm while being up 1.32 percent compared to last week.

Martin Guri believes we are entering a strong report seasons that, like the one for the third quarter, will offer a large number of positive surprises.

He forecasts that the Stockholm exchange index will increase 30 percent this year, mainly on the back of positive macroeconomic outlooks, stronger company earnings and increased risk appetite.

Sectors most likely to increase are those sensitive to market fluctuations such as banks and industrial companies. At the same time he warns of pharmaceutical and telecom companies.

Tobacco company Swedish Match rallied 5 percent Friday after stating it would form a new global cigar company with Scandinavian Tobacco Group.

"This is good for Swedish Match and its stock", a Stockholm-based analyst covering the company stock told The Swedish Wire, adding that the move was not unexpected. "I believe there will be several positive synergies".

Both truck maker Volvo and the bank Swedbank said they were to appoint new chairman of their boards.

Telecom giant Ericsson rose Thursday after it landed a key deal to supply next generation LTE network to Nordic operator TeliaSonera in Norway and Sweden, although not disclosing the value of the deal. TeliaSonera rose Monday after being upgraded by Credit Suisse to neutral from underperform.

Fashion retailer increased 3 percent Monday after raised recommendations by investment bank Carnegie.

Sweden’s calendar-adjusted GDP growth is expected to rise to 2 percent this year, compared with the 1.2 percent forecasted in September, mainly on the back of better conditions on the labor market and stronger household consumption, Swedbank’s Chief economist Cecilia Hermansson wrote in the banks Economic Outlook Thursday.

Since the turn of the year the OMX Stockholm 30 index is up 2.8 percent.

This article has been published at The Swedish Wire and Nasdaq OMX Nordic.