European equities moved cautiously higher on Wednesday, overcoming disappointing German factory data and renewed tariff threats from former U.S. President Donald Trump targeting the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries.
Germany’s new factory orders dropped by 1.0% in June compared to the previous month, defying forecasts for a 1.0% increase and marking a deeper decline than May’s 0.8% slide, according to Destatis.
Despite the downbeat economic signal, major European indices saw modest gains. Germany’s DAX edged up 0.1%, while France’s CAC 40 and the UK’s FTSE 100 both advanced 0.3%.
Earnings Movers and Corporate Headlines
Shares of ABN AMRO (EU:ABN) sank 7.5% after the Dutch bank unveiled a smaller-than-anticipated share buyback and reported weaker lending margins in Q2.
Commodities giant Glencore (LSE:GLEN) fell 3.1% in London trading as it reported a 14% drop in first-half adjusted EBITDA and abandoned a proposal to shift its main listing out of the UK.
Legal & General (LSE:LGEN) declined 2.5%, despite the insurer and asset manager posting better-than-expected earnings for the first half.
In contrast, German property group Vonovia (TG:VNA) surged 4% following a double-digit increase in H1 earnings and an upward revision to its 2025 EBT forecast.
Wind turbine manufacturer Nordex Group (TG:NDX1) rose 2.6% after landing a 51.7 MW order from TEUT Energieprojekte GmbH for a project in Brandenburg.
Healthcare conglomerate Fresenius (TG:FME) gained 1.6% after beating Q2 expectations and raising its full-year revenue outlook.
On the downside, Bayer (TG:BAYN) slipped 4.2% after posting a wider second-quarter loss amid a challenging operating environment.
Zalando (TG:ZAL) tumbled 4.6% despite solid Q2 results and upgraded 2025 guidance, as investors appeared unimpressed with the company’s sales growth.
Meanwhile, Commerzbank (TG:CBK) lost 1% after reporting a drop in quarterly profits.
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