European Shares Flat To Higher In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - European stocks were flat to slightly higher on Wednesday, after having surged to a record high the previous day, driven by positive corporate earnings and hopes for progress in talks between Washington and Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The pan-European STOXX 600 edged up by 0.1 percent to 657.77 after surging 0.7 percent to a record on Tuesday.

The German DAX, France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were up between 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent.

In corporate news, British brickmaker Ibstock fell 2.4 percent after reporting lower first-half revenue and guiding to the low end of its 2026 profit range.

Commodity trader Glencore surged 3.3 percent after reporting a sharp rise in first-half earnings on the back of higher commodity prices.

Fashion and homeware retailer Next gained 6.5 percent after raising its outlook for the third time this fiscal year.

Switzerland-based bottler Coca-Cola HBC surged 4 percent after lifting its full-year profit forecast.

Generics maker Sandoz soared nearly 8 percent after reporting a better-than-expected 9 percent rise in Q2 net sales.

Novo Nordisk tumbled 3.7 percent. The Danish drugmaker said an experimental medicine didn't reduce risk of heart attack or stroke in a late-stage clinical trial.

Schaeffler rose 1.3 percent. After reporting Q2 profit in line with expectations, the German industrial and automotive supplier announced plans to cut its German workforce through an expanded phased-retirement program.

Chip maker Infineon Technologies slumped almost 6 percent despite the company reporting record quarterly revenue and raising its full-year revenue and adjusted free cash flow forecasts.

Siemens Energy rose 1.2 percent. The energy technology company said sales, margins and orders hit a record in the third quarter.

Dutch brewer Heineken advanced 2.5 percent after reporting a forecast-beating first-half profit and backing its full-year earnings outlook.