European equities moved broadly lower on Thursday as persistent tensions in the Middle East kept investors cautious, offsetting some support from falling U.S. bond yields after the Treasury Department significantly increased its government debt purchases.
Energy markets remained a key source of concern. Brent crude climbed more than 2% towards $94 a barrel, extending its advance into a fourth consecutive session after U.S. President Donald Trump intensified pressure on Tehran.
Trump warned of economic consequences for any country providing “any type of lifeline to Iran,” adding to fears that the confrontation could prolong disruption across global energy markets.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded by saying Trump’s “doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat” to the U.S.
German producer inflation accelerates in July
European markets also absorbed stronger-than-expected inflation data from Germany, adding another potential challenge for the interest-rate outlook.
Figures from Destatis showed German producer prices increased 3.0% year on year in July, accelerating sharply from the 1.8% rise recorded in June.
The reading was the highest in more than three years and exceeded economists’ forecast for a 2.7% increase.
Against this backdrop, Germany’s DAX fell 0.6%, while France’s CAC 40 and the UK’s FTSE 100 both declined 0.5%.
JD Sports and Hays fall after disappointing updates
Corporate developments added further pressure to European markets.
JD Sports Fashion (LSE:JD.) shares dropped sharply after the retailer reduced its fiscal 2027 profit guidance following a deeper decline in underlying second-quarter sales.
British recruitment group Hays (LSE:HAS) also suffered heavy losses after reporting a full-year pre-tax loss caused by restructuring charges and reducing its annual dividend.
Dutch insurer Aegon (EU:AGN) declined after announcing that Chief Financial Officer Duncan Russel will leave the company in April 2027.
Holmen and Skanska buck weaker European trend
Several Nordic companies moved higher despite the broader decline in European equities.
Holmen (TG:HL9C) gained after the Swedish forest products group reported second-quarter results ahead of market expectations.
Skanska (TG:SKNB) also advanced after securing a $1.2 billion contract to develop four new data centres in the southeastern United States.
The mixed corporate moves came against a generally defensive market backdrop, with geopolitical uncertainty and stronger German producer inflation outweighing the benefit of lower U.S. Treasury yields.
Leave a Reply