European Markets Close Higher As Investors Focus On Earnings

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Thursday with investors mostly reacting to corporate earnings announcements. Concerns about geopolitical tensions and the potential impact of tariffs on global economic growth weighed a bit and limited markets' upside.

EU countries today formally adopted a 19th package of sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine that includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports.

"It's a significant package that targets main Russian revenue streams through new energy, financial, and trade measures," the Danish rotating presidency of the EU said.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.37%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed 0.67% up, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40, both gained 0.23%. Switzerland's SMI ended down 0.45%.

Among other markets in Europe, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Ireland and Russia ended weak.

In the UK market, Rentokil Initial soared nearly 8.5% after the company's third-quarter organic revenue growth topped estimates.

London Stock Exchange Group surged 7.2% after raising its margin guidance. The company has also announced a 1 billion pound buyback.

Fresnillo climbed 5.3%. BP, Endeavour Mining, Shell, Burberry Group, Weir Group, Babcock International, Experian, Centrica, Polar Capital Technology Trust and Rio Tinto gained 1.8 to 4%.

Easyjet ended 2.8% down. Ashtead Group closed lower by about 2.5%. Schroders, Relx, St. James's Place, Legal & General Entain, Diageo, Compass Group, WPP and Severn Trent lost 1 to 2%.

Intercontinental Hotels Group closed lower by about 1.25% despite Q3 room revenue coming in above estimates.

In the German market, SAP gained about 2.2%. On Wednesday, the company announced that it posted earnings of EUR2.051 billion, or EUR1.71 per share, in the third quarter of the current financial year, compared with EUR1.441 billion, or EUR1.24 per share in the year-ago quarter.

MTU Aero Engines climbed 2.1% on higher earnings. The aircraft engine manufacturers reported a net income of EUR 250 million, or EUR 4.63 per share, for the third quarter, compared to EUR 211 million, or EUR 3.90 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

The company now anticipates a mid-twenties percentage increase in adjusted EBIT for 2025, hitting the upper end of the previous guidance range, and free cash flow of between 350 million euros and 400 million euros.

Siemens Energy surged 3.2%. Fresenius, BASF, Scout24 and Deutsche Boerse gained 1 to 1.5%.

Beiersdorf settled with a marginal gain. The company's total sales in the third quarter were 2.35 billion euros, a drop of 0.9% from last year, but a growth of 1.7% organically.

Deutsche Telekom and Infineon lost more than 2% from their previous closing levels. Fresenius Medical Care, Vonovia, Siemens, Brenntag and Heidelberg Materials also closed notably lower.

In the French market, Kering zoomed nearly 9% after reporting a smaller-than-expected drop in third-quarter sales.

Bureau Veritas gained 2.3% and TotalEnergies climbed about 2%. Bouygues, Societe Generale, Engie, Safran, L'Oreal, Schneider Electric and Michelin also ended notably higher.

Orange Group gained marginally. The company reported a 3.7% increase in EBITDA to 3.437 billion euros on a comparable basis during the third quarter of 2025, along with a 0.7% improvement in margin.

STMicroElectronics tanked more than 14% after it forecast fourth quarter revenue below estimates. Carmaker Renault closed lower by about 3% despite surpassing Q3 revenue forecast.

Dassault Systemes closed lower by 13% after the software firm trimmed its full-year revenue growth guidance.

Sodexo ended sharply lower. The company reported net profit from continuing operations of €695 million, or €4.76 per basic share, for fiscal 2025, down from €738 million, or €5.04 per share, a year earlier.

Carrefour lost nearly 4% after confirming its full-year targets. Edenred, Teleperformance, Capgemini and Pernod Ricard also ended sharply lower.

A report from the statistical office INSEE showed France's manufacturing business climate indicator rose to 101 in October from 97 in September, moving above its long-term average of 100 for the first time since early March 2024.

Business confidence in the United Kingdom decreased to -31 points in the fourth quarter of 2025 from -27 points in the third quarter of 2025, data from the Confderation of British Industry showed.