European equities traded slightly lower in early dealings on Thursday as investors digested quarterly results from artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) while continuing to monitor diplomatic developments surrounding the conflict between the United States and Iran.
By 07:06 GMT, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index had declined 0.2%. Germany’s DAX also slipped 0.2%, the UK’s FTSE 100 lost 0.4%, while France’s CAC 40 traded broadly flat.
Nvidia reported record quarterly revenue and profit, supported by continued strong demand for high-performance data centre systems and expanding adoption of AI-driven software agents.
Revenue for the April quarter surged 85% year-on-year to US$81.6 billion, exceeding analyst forecasts, while net income climbed to US$58.3 billion — more than triple the level recorded a year earlier and comfortably ahead of Wall Street expectations.
Chief executive Jensen Huang highlighted what he described as the arrival of the “era of agentic AI,” saying demand had turned “parabolic” as companies increasingly adopt systems capable of independently carrying out tasks on behalf of users.
“[T]he chip landscape remains Nvidia’s world with everybody else paying rent as more sovereigns and enterprises wait in line for Nvidia’s chips,” Wedbush analysts said in a note.
Despite the strong headline figures, Nvidia shares edged slightly lower in extended trading after analysts cited by Reuters noted that the company’s outlook excluded China sales and was only modestly ahead of expectations. Analysts also suggested that, given the exceptionally high expectations surrounding Nvidia, even stronger-than-forecast results may struggle to fully satisfy investors.
Beyond the technology sector, markets also focused on growing hopes for a possible agreement to end the conflict between the United States and Iran, which has now lasted for more than two months.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington was in the “final stages” of a possible draft peace deal, although he also warned of a potential escalation, stating that “we’re going to do some things that are a little bit nasty” if negotiations fail.
Iran meanwhile confirmed it was reviewing the latest U.S. proposals aimed at resolving the conflict.
Investors are paying particular attention to any progress that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the strategically important shipping route off Iran’s southern coast that has been largely closed to tanker traffic since the conflict began in late February. Shipping data reported earlier this week indicated that some vessels had recently resumed passing through the waterway.
Brent crude futures were last trading modestly higher at US$106.34 a barrel after previously retreating from around US$110 following Trump’s comments regarding a potential agreement.
Markets may receive further indications later today regarding the economic impact of the Iran conflict when preliminary business activity figures are released across Europe. European Central Bank policymakers are also expected to closely monitor the data ahead of a widely anticipated interest rate increase next month.
Among individual stocks, Assicurazioni Generali SpA (BIT:G) rose after reporting first-quarter results that exceeded expectations while reaffirming its full-year outlook.
Meanwhile, EasyJet (LSE:EZJ) reported a first-half loss of £552 million, with shares trading broadly unchanged in early market activity.
Leave a Reply