Much of the recent ebullient narrative about equity markets has been based on the promise of an earnings rebound - due to beneficial comps in the oil & gas sector. That narrative just hit a wall...

As Bloomberg notes, analysts haven’t rushed to upgrade their outlook on earnings per share at Europe’s biggest energy companies, even as Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA, and Statoil ASA beat estimates for a second straight quarter.

With crude below $50 a barrel, analysts cut their EPS predictions to the lowest since November.

Concerns that rising global production will continue to weigh on oil prices are keeping those numbers in check, according to MPPM EK and Saxo Bank A/S.