BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks gave up early gains and are broadly lower Thursday afternoon as investors look ahead to some crucial economic data following the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history coming to an end after President Donald Trump signed a funding package.
The Republican-controlled House passed the crucial spending bill by 222 to 209 votes, with two Reps not voting.
Speaking after signing the short-term bill in the Oval Office late Wednesday night, Trump said the government would now 'resume normal operations' after 'people were hurt so badly' from the long shutdown.
As per the funding compromise, a new stopgap measure to extend government funding until January 30 has been approved.
Expectations of an interst rate cut by the Federal Reserve next month help limit markets' downside.
Among the major markets in Europe, UK and German markets are down in negative territry, while France remains firmly positive.
The pan European Stoxx 600 is up 0.11%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 is down 0.34% and Germany's DAX is down 0.4%, while France's CAC 40 is gaining 0.69%.
In the UK market, Despite a sharp surge in first-half earnings, 3I Group shares are plunging nearly 16% after the company warned of a challenging environment ahead and of soft recent trading at the discount retailer that makes up most of its portfolio.
The company's first-half profit climbed to £3.287 billion, up from £2.048 billion last year. Earnings per share rose to 339.8 pence, compared with 211.6 pence a year earlier.
Aviva and WPP are down more than 4.5%. Admiral Group, SSE, Barratt Redrow, Vodafone Group, BP, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Kingfisher, Bunzl, Entain, GSK, Shell, Smith & Nephew and Compass Group are down 1 to 2.5%.
Endeavour Mining is soaring 11.5% on strong third-quarter performance thanks to high gold prices, firm output and higher cash generation.
Burberry Group is notably higher after the company said that its first half loss before tax narrowed to 48 million pounds from a loss of 80 million pounds a year ago.
Convatec Group is rising 6.5%. Fresnillo, Spirax Group, Persimmon, Metlen Energy & Metals, IAG, Hiscox, Experian, Babcock International, Standard Chartered and Easyjet are up with sharp to moderate gains.
In the German market, Siemens is down 5.5% after reporting a drop in fourth-quarter earnings. The company's bottom line came in at EUR1.619 billion, or EUR2.05 per share in the fourth quarter, compared with EUR1.900 billion, or EUR2.38 per share, last year.
Siemens Healthineers is down 3.2%, while RWE and E.ON are down 2.1% and 2%, respectively. Fresenius Medical Care, Beiersdorf and Fresenius are also notable lower.
Merck is gaining more than 6%. Merck's net profit in the third quarter increased to €898 million or €2.07 per share from €812 million or €1.86 per share in the prior year. Excluding one-time items, earnings per share pre edged up 0.9% to €2.32 from €2.30.
Munich RE, Bayer, MTU Aero Engines, Hannover Rueck and Infineon are up 1 to 1.7%.
In the French market, Kering, Teleperformance, Credit Agricole, Bouygues, Societe Generale, Saint Gobain, AXA, Unibail Rodamco, Thales, Dassault Systemes and TotalEnergies are up 1 to 2.5%.
Carrefour is gaining more than 1.5% after the Saadé family acquired a 4% stake in the company and becoming the group's new majority shareholder.
Edenred is declining by 1.9%. Pernod Ricard is down 1.5%, while Legrand, Publicis Groupe and Hermes International are down with modest losses.
In economic news, data from Eurostat showed Eurozone industrial production rose 0.2% month-on-month in September 2025, after a 1.1% decline in August. On an annual basis, industrial output grew 1.2%, the same pace as in the previous month and below forecasts of 2.1%.
France's unemployment rate increased in the third quarter, data from the statistical office INSEE showed. The ILO jobless rate rose to 7.7% in the third quarter from revised 7.6% in the second quarter. The unemployment rate was forecast to rise to 7.6% from the second quarter's initial estimate of 7.5%.
The UK economy expanded marginally in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics said in its report.
Gross domestic product grew 0.1% sequentially, following the prior quarter's 0.3% expansion. This was also slower than forecast of 0.2%. On a yearly basis, the economy logged a growth of 1.3% in the third quarter, as expected.
Month-on-month, GDP fell 0.1% following no growth in August and a 0.1% fall in July.
Another report from the ONS showed that the visible trade deficit narrowed to GBP 18.89 billion from GBP 19.53 billion in August. The total trade gap was GBP 1.09 billion compared to a GBP 1.27 billion shortfall in the prior month.
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