European equity markets traded modestly higher on Wednesday after closing at fresh record highs in the previous session, supported by another round of encouraging corporate earnings and continued optimism surrounding negotiations between the United States and Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.5%, Germany’s DAX added 0.2%, while France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.1%.
Corporate earnings remain the main market driver
Among individual stocks, Ibstock (LSE:IBST) declined 2.4% after the building materials group reported lower first-half revenue and indicated that full-year 2026 profit is likely to come in at the lower end of its guidance range.
Glencore (LSE:GLEN) climbed 3.3% after stronger commodity prices helped the mining and trading group deliver a sharp increase in first-half earnings.
Next (LSE:NXT) rallied 6.5% after upgrading its earnings outlook for the third time during the current financial year.
Coca-Cola HBC (LSE:CCH) gained 4% after improving its full-year profit forecast following another solid set of results.
Sandoz (LSE:0SAN) jumped almost 8% after reporting second-quarter net sales growth of 9%, comfortably ahead of market expectations.
Mixed performance across healthcare and industrials
Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) fell 3.7% after announcing that one of its experimental medicines failed to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke in a late-stage clinical study.
Schaeffler (TG:SHA0) advanced 1.3%. The German automotive and industrial supplier reported second-quarter profit broadly in line with expectations and unveiled plans to reduce its domestic workforce through an expanded phased-retirement programme.
Infineon Technologies (TG:IFX) dropped nearly 6%, despite reporting record quarterly revenue and raising both its full-year revenue forecast and adjusted free cash flow guidance.
Siemens Energy (TG:SIE) added 1.2% after announcing record third-quarter sales, margins and order intake.
Heineken extends gains after strong results
Heineken (EU:HEIA) rose 2.5% after the Dutch brewer posted stronger-than-expected first-half profit and reaffirmed its earnings outlook for the full year.
Leave a Reply