BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Amid expectations of a rate cut from the Federal Reserve in September, and hopes the meeting between the Presidents of the U.S. and Russia will help end the war in Ukraine, the major European markets closed on a positive note on Thursday, although the U.K. market underperformed other major markets in the region.
Investors also digested a slew of earnings updates and economic data from the region.
The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.55%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed 0.13% up after spending much of the day's trading session in negative territory. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 gained 0.79% and 0.84%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI settled with a gain of 0.19%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended higher.
Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Turkiye closed weak.
In the UK market, Admiral Group gained more than 6.5%, lifted by a whopping 67% surge in half-year pretax profit. Aviva climbed about 2.5% after reporing a 22% jump in operating profit in the first half of 2025.
National Grid shares gained 1.8% after the company agreed to sell its Grain LNG business to a consortium comprising Centrica plc and Energy Capital Partners LLC.
Centrica surged 3.7%. BAE Systems, Babcock International, Natwest Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Games Workshop, Marks & Spencer, United Utilities, St. James's Place, WPP and Legal & General also closed with strong gains.
Rio Tinto closed lower by about 4%. Beazley, Diploma, Persimmon, Anglo American Plc, Halma, Shell, GSK and Barratt Redrow lost 1.4 to 3%.
In Germany, Rheinmetall climbed more than 3%. Allianz, MTU Aero Engines, Vonovia, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Siemens and Fresenius gained 1 to 2.2%.
RWE closed 2.5% down, after reporting a sharp drop in earnings. RWE reported net income of 1.45 billion euros in the first half, compared to year's 4.11 billion euros. Earnings per share were 1.98 euros, down from 5.52 euros a year ago.
Thyssenkrupp AG closed more than 8% down. The company reported net loss of 278 million euros in the third quarte of its current financil year, compared to a loss of 54 million euros in the prior year.
HelloFresh plunged 16% after reporting revenues of 1.7 billion euros in the second quarter of 2025, down 9.5% compared to the corresponding period last year. HelloFresh said it will increase this share buy-back program from 75 million euros by up to 100 million euros to a total of up to 175 million euros and will extend its duration until no later than 31 December 2026.
Puma ended 2.3% down, and Brenntag closed lower by about 1.4%. Hannover Rueck, Siemens Energy, Bayer and Munich RE also ended weak.
In the French market, Thales climbed more than 2.5%. Airbus, Veolia, Schneider Electric, Air Liquide, Safran, ArcelorMittal, Societe Generale, Bouygues, BNP Paribas, Legrand, Eurofins Scientific, Vinci and Saint Gobain gained 1 to 2.3%.
Kering closed down by more than 2.5%. Capgemini ended lower by about 1.2%. Edenred and Renault closed with modest losses.
In economic news, data from the statistical office INSEE showed France's consumer price index rose 1% on a yearly basis in July, the same as in the previous month, which was the highest inflation in five months. That was in line with the flash data published on July 31.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices moved up 0.2% in July, following a 0.4% increase a month ago, as estimated.
EU-harmonized inflation also held steady at 0.9% in July. Monthly, the HICP rose 0.3% versus an increase of 0.4% in June. There was no change in figures compared to the flash estimate.
The Eurozone economy grew 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2025, its weakest performance since Q4 2023, slowing from 0.6% in Q1 and matching the first estimate, data from Eurostat showed. Year-on-year, Eurozone GDP rose 1.4%, just below 1.5% in Q1 and in line with the advance estimates.
Euro Area industrial production fell by 1.3% month-over-month in June, reversing from a 1.1% rise in May. On an annual basis, industrial output growth eased to 0.2% in June from 3.1% in May, below forecasts of a 1.7% increase.
A separate data from Eurostat said the number of employed persons in the Euro Area rose by 0.1% from the previous quarter to 171.695 million in the second quarter of 2025, slowing slightly from the 0.2% increase in the previous period and in line with market expectations. It was the 17th consecutive period of growth in employment in the currency bloc.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that the UK economy rebounded at a faster-than-expected pace in June, with gross domestic product growing 0.4%, following a 0.1% decline in May. Output was forecast to grow 0.2%.
Industrial production increased 0.7%, reversing a revised 1.3% fall.
In the second quarter, real GDP expanded 0.3% sequentially and 1.1% from the previous year.
Another data from the ONS showed that the visible trade deficit remained largely unchanged at GBP 22.16 billion in June. The total trade that combines goods and services showed a shortfall of GBP 5 billion compared to a GBP 4.5 billion deficit in May.
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