European equities traded lower on Thursday, with investors exercising caution ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming address at the Jackson Hole symposium, where markets hope to gain clarity on the outlook for interest rates later this year.
On the economic front, fresh data offered a mixed picture. The Eurozone’s manufacturing PMI surprisingly ticked back into expansion territory in August, though activity in the services sector fell, according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index survey by HCOB.
Across the Channel, the U.K. economy showed signs of resilience. Private sector activity grew at its fastest pace in a year, while government figures revealed that Britain’s budget deficit in July fell to its lowest level for the month in three years.
By midday trading, the French CAC 40 was down 0.6%, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.3%, and London’s FTSE 100 eased 0.2%.
On the corporate side, several stocks moved sharply following earnings and business updates:
- Nicox (EU:ALCOX), the French ophthalmology company, jumped 10% after releasing encouraging results from the phase 3 Denali trial of NCX 470 in glaucoma patients.
- Dutch insurer Aegon (EU:AGN) gained 7% as it reported a swing to a €606 million profit in the first half of 2025, compared to a €65 million loss a year earlier.
- WHSmith (LSE:SMWH) plunged 37% after the British retailer cut its forecasts and announced an independent probe into what it described as “an overstatement” of profits in its U.S. division.
- Engineering firm Renishaw (LSE:RSW) rose 9% following news that Group Finance Director Allen Roberts will retire at year’s end, closing out a 46-year tenure with the company.
- Recruitment group Hays (LSE:HAS) slipped 4% after reporting a sharp drop in annual profit.
- Norway’s second-largest oil and gas company Aker BP (TG:A3KQ02) advanced 3% after confirming a major oil discovery in the Yggdrasil field of the North Sea.
Investors remain focused on Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole, which could set the tone for central bank policy in the months ahead.
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