European Shares Rise on Strong Corporate Earnings
European shares saw modest gains on Thursday, buoyed by a series of positive corporate earnings reports. Investors remained watchful of last-minute trade negotiations following a flurry of tariff announcements from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.40% in early trading. The index is on pace to finish the month with gains, driven by subsiding trade tensions, better-than-expected economic data from both the U.S. and Europe, and a largely positive earnings season.
With the August 1 deadline approaching, President Trump has unveiled new levies. These include a 25% tariff on goods from India, plus an additional penalty related to India’s trade with Russia. A trade framework with the European Union will impose 15% tariffs on many European goods.
Euro zone banks continued their positive momentum, with Societe Generale (OTC:SCGLY) showing a decline of -0.37%. Meanwhile, Standard Chartered (STAN) reported a significant 54% rise in its second-quarter net profit, beating analyst expectations and announcing a $1.3 billion share buyback. This news, however, did not prevent a slight dip in its stock. Spanish bank BBVA (BME:BBVA) saw its stock rise 0.40%.
In the energy sector, Shell (SHEL) experienced a modest increase of 0.67%. Rival BP (BP) also saw a slight gain of 0.09%.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (EBR:ABI) saw its stock climb 0.83% despite reporting a decline in global volumes. The brewer’s performance was supported by higher prices and expanding margins.
On the technology front, strong quarterly results from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), with a reported revenue of $76.4 billion, up 18%, and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), which saw a 22% increase in revenue to $47.5 billion, helped boost sentiment. Microsoft’s stock was up 0.13%, while Meta’s was down -0.68%. Investors are now looking ahead to earnings reports from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN). Apple’s stock was down -1.05% and Amazon’s was down -0.35%.
