European Markets Close On Buoyant Note As Trade Tensions Ease

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed on a strong note on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump toned down his rhetoric on Jerome Powell, and also admitted that the proposed tariffs on China are "very high."

Trump said he would like to see Powell to be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates, and that he has no intention to fire him.

On the tariff front, the U.S. President said tariffs on China will come down substantially.

Investors also digested a slew of earnings updates from the region, and data on service sector and manufacturing activity in the major economies in the region.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 1.53%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 1.23%, Germany's DAX advanced 2.36% and France's CAC 40 closed up 2.02%, while Switzerland's SMI settled higher by 1.39%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden ended notably higher.

Portugal edged up marginally, while Russia and Turkiye closed weak.

In the UK market, Croda International surged more than 8%. Antofagasta and Standard Chartered climbed 7% and 6.3%, respectively. HSBC Holdings, Babcock International, Barclays, Polar Capital Technology Trust, IAG, IMI and Glencore gained 4 to 6%.

Reckitt Benckiser closed 5.7% down, hurt by the company missing first-quarter sales estimates. Fresnillo lost more than 5% after reporting about a 9% decline in silver production in Q1.

Endeavour Mining shed about 5.6%. Severn Trent, Vodafone Group, Next, Marks & Spencer, National Grid and BAE Systems were among the other notable losers.

In the German market, SAP soared more than 10% after reporting a 60% year-on-year increase in operating profit. The company reported first-quarter earnings of EUR 1.8 billion, compared to EUR 0.82 billion a year ago. Revenue for the first quarter was EUR 9.013 billion, compared to EUR 8.041 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Sartorius, Deutsche Bank, Adidas, MTU Aero Engines, Commerzbank, Infineon, Siemens, Mercedes-Benz and Puma gained 3 to 5%.

Adidas, Bayer, Volkswagen, Deutsche Post, BMW, Brenntag, Continental, Siemens Energy, Siemens Healthineers, Porsche, Deutsche Telekom, Heidelberg Materials, Qiagen and Zalando gained 1.8 to 3%.

Rheinmetall ended 4.4% down. E.ON and Vonovia also closed notably lower.

In the French market, Eurofins Scientific zoomed more than 12% thanks to the company reporting a near 7% surge in first-quarter revenue at euro 1,767 million. Organic revenue growth was up 3.9% in the first-quarter.

STMicroElectronics gained nearly 6%, while ArcelorMittal, Schneider Electric, Saint Gobain, Airbus, Societe Generale, Capgemini, Acco, BNP Paribas and L'Oreal advanced 3 to 5.4%.

Data from S&P Global showed the HCOB Flash Germany Composite PMI declined to 49.7 in April 2025 from 51.3 in March, pointing to a surprise contraction in private sector activity, the first in four months.

The services sector moved back into contraction, with the PMI coming in at 48.8 for the month of April from 50.9 in March. Meanwhile, the manufacturing downturn deepened to 48.0 from 48.3.

Flash survey data from S&P Global showed France's private sector activity came under renewed pressure in April due to pronounced demand weakness in the domestic market and deteriorating confidence among service providers.

The HCOB composite output index registered 47.3 in April, down from 48.0 in March. The reading was expected to ease to 47.8. The score remained below the threshold 50.0 mark for the eight successive month indicating contraction in output.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index slid to 46.8 in April from 47.9 in the previous month. The score was also below forecast of 47.7. The factory PMI posted 48.2, down from 48.5 a month ago. The reading was expected to drop more sharply to 47.9.

The UK private sector activity deteriorated for the first time in one-and-a-haf years in April amid weaker foreign demand linked to tariff uncertainty, flash survey data from S&P Global revealed.

The flash composite output index dropped to a 29-month low of 48.2 in April from 51.5 in March. The expected score was 50.4.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index also fell to a 27-month low of 48.9 compared to 52.5 in March. The score was well below the forecast of 51.5. At 44.0, the manufacturing PMI remained at a 20-month low as expected and down from 45.3 in March.