European Stocks Close Broadly Higher On Trade Deal Hopes

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed on a positive note on Thursday with the undertone remaining firm amid expectations the European Union and the U.S. will strike a trade deal soon. Investors also looked ahead to the earnings season that is set to start next week.

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said there was good progress on a framework trade agreement and a deal may even be possible within days.

Investors shrugged off U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 50% tariff on copper imports, along with a separate levy on Brazlian goods. The levies will take effect on August 1.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.54%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100, which climbed to a record high, settled with a gain of 1.23%. France's CAC 40 closed up 0.3%, while Germany's DAX ended down 0.38% despite recording a new all-time high. Switzerland's SMI ended 1.04% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Spain ended weak, while Ireland closed flat.

In the UK market, mining stocks turned in a fine performance. Shares from banking sector also posted strong gains.

Rio Tinto, Glencore, Ashtead Group, Anglo American Plc, Smith & Nephew, Whitbread, Weir Group and British American Tobacco gained 3 to 4%.

WPP climbed up sharply after appointing Microsoft's Cindy Rose as its new CEO. DCC, a sales, marketing, and support services provider, rose nearly 2% in early trades after delivering Q1 operating profit growth in line with expectations.

AstraZeneca, Spirax Group, Standard Chartered, Intermediate Capital Group, Rentokil Initial and St. James's Place were among the several other impressive gainers.

Land Securities ended down 2.5%. Hiscox, SSE, Babcock International, Centrica, Severn Trent, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Segro and BT Group also closed notably lower.

In the German market, BMW rallied more than 4%. Sartorius, Qiagen, Merck, Porsche, Brenntag and Puma gained 2 to 4%.

Bayer, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Beiersdorf, BASF, Continental, Henkel, Siemens Healthineers and Infineon also ended on a firm note.

Commerzbank ended nearly 4% down. Siemens Energy, Allianz, MTU Aero Engines, Munich RE and E.On lost 1 to 3%.

In the French market, Pernod Ricard moved up 3.7% on strong domestic sales. ArcelorMittal gained more than 3.5% on firm global steel demand. LVMH, Stellantis and Kering also gained more than 3%.

L'Oreal, Renault, Hermes International, Vivendi, Publicis Groupe, Eurofins Scientific, Dassault Systemes, Michelin and Sanofi moved up by 1 to 2.2%.

STMicroElectronics tumbled more than 11%. Societe Generale ended down by about 2.7%. Bouygues, Engie, Safran, BNP Paribas, Essilor, Edenred and Orange closed lower by 1 to 2%.

In economic news, a report from Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its survey showed the house price balance in UK remined at -7% in June, unchanged from May, and slightly better than market expectations of -8%.

Final data from Destatis showed Germany's inflation eased to the lowest in eight months in June, as initially estimated, due to continued decline in energy prices and slowdown in food inflation.

Consumer price inflation slowed to 2% in June, in line with flash estimate, from 2.1% in May.

A similar lower rate was last reported in October 2024. With the latest slowdown, inflation hit the European Central Bank target.

"In addition to the continued decline in energy prices, food price inflation slowed in particular," Destatis President Ruth Brand said. "On the other hand, the above-average increase in service prices continued to drive up inflation," Brand added.

Excluding energy and food prices, core inflation eased marginally to 2.7% in June from 2.8% in May. The rate matched the estimate published on June 30.