
Europe's STOXX 600 recovered slightly on Wednesday after a selloff in the previous session, as investors eyed political risks in France and awaited earnings from artificial intelligence chip leader Nvidia.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed up 0.1%, a day after registering its largest drop in nearly a month. Most other regional bourses, however, closed in the red.
France's CAC 40 bounced back 0.4% from a three-week low hit in the previous session's selloff sparked by concerns over a potential collapse of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's government next month.
Three main opposition parties said on Monday they would not back Bayrou in a confidence vote, which he announced for September 8, over his plans for sweeping budget cuts.
If the government falls, President Emmanuel Macron could name a new prime minister immediately, ask Bayrou to stay on as head of a caretaker government or call a snap election.
"A lot has already been priced in, especially for domestic names ... French banks, utilities, business services - but I would expect uncertainty to remain for the next few weeks," said Christophe Hautin, equity portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors.
Investors are awaiting earnings from Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, for fresh cues on the AI trade, after a blistering technology stock rally hit a speed bump in August.
European corporate earnings have been resilient so far, with more than 52% of companies that have reported second quarter earnings till Tuesday, exceeding analysts' estimates.
"Investors want to assess to what degree tariffs and the uncertainty of the past few months have affected business confidence ... but the macro outlook for Europe looks pretty solid," said Nicholas Brooks, head of economic and investment research at ICG.
Heavyweight banks led sectoral losses, down 1.3%. Shares in Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank fell 3.4% and 4.9%, respectively, after a Goldman Sachs downgrade.
On the flip side, the personal and household goods sector gained 1.5%. Luxury stocks led the charge, with the broader index hitting a near one month high.
Swatch rose 6.3%, to top the STOXX 600, after the Swiss watchmaker's CEO said the company will be able to partly offset an impact from U.S. tariffs through price increases, analysts said.
Source: Investing.com
Britain's FTSE 100 index on Friday briefly surpassed the symbolic 10,000 points marker for the first time, extending gains after a bumper 2025. The FTSE 100 index — home to the U.K.'s most valuable b...
European equity markets extended their rally on the first trading day of 2026, with benchmark indices pushing to fresh record highs despite thin liquidity following the New Year holiday. Gains were le...
Asia-Pacific stock markets are expected to open mixed on Friday, marking a cautious start to the new year. This movement follows the New Year's Eve close of US markets, where the three major Wall Stre...
European stocks ended mixed on the last trading day of the year. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed a shortened trading session 0.1% lower on Wednesday, with most sector indexes in negative terr...
Stocks were little changed Wednesday as Wall Street got ready to close out a bumper year for equities. Stocks are riding a three-session losing streak, although the declines have been mild and the S&...
Gold and silver steadied at the beginning of the year after their best annual performances since 1979 as traders assessed the reweighting of a benchmark commodity index that starts next week. Bullion gained as much as 1.9% on Friday before paring...
Britain's FTSE 100 index on Friday briefly surpassed the symbolic 10,000 points marker for the first time, extending gains after a bumper 2025. The FTSE 100 index — home to the U.K.'s most valuable blue-chip companies — ended the first trading day...
US President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to come to the aid of protesters in Iran if security forces open fire on them, days after unrest that has killed several people and posed the biggest internal threat to Iranian authorities in...
Stocks were little changed Wednesday as Wall Street got ready to close out a bumper year for equities.
Stocks are riding a three-session losing...
European stocks ended mixed on the last trading day of the year.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed a shortened trading session 0.1% lower on...
Asian stock markets opened with limited movement on Wednesday morning (December 31, 2025), ahead of the year's close. Most indices moved slightly...
European equity markets extended their rally on the first trading day of 2026, with benchmark indices pushing to fresh record highs despite thin...