European Stocks Jump On Earnings, Oil's Plunge, U.S. Midterm Election Results

(RTTNews) - European stocks moved up sharply on Wednesday and several markets hit multi-week or even multi-month highs as some stronger-than-expected corporate earnings, weak oil prices and softening bond yields lifted sentiment.

The decisive victory of the Democrats in the U.S. midterm elections also contributed significantly to the bullish mood in the markets.

Following their fine show in the midterm elections, Democrats are projected to win control of both the House and Senate.

President Donald Trump's apparent willingness to accept the results and work with Democrats to address political issues also helped ease concerns about increased regulatory scrutiny under a Democrat-controlled Congress.

Brent crude front-month futures plunged to about $95 a barrel, losing about 8%.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.86%. The UK's FTSE 100 gained 1.72%, Germany's DAX ended 1.37% up, and France's CAC 40 settled with a gain of 2.19%. Switzerland's SMI ended stronger by 1.9%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Türkiye closed on strong note.

Iceland moved modestly higher, while Norway and Russia ended flat.

In the UK market, Miners and banks were among the prominent gainers.

Fresnillo, Smith & Nephew, Associated British Foods, AutoTrader Group, Natwest, Endeavour Mining, St. James's Place and Airtel Africa climbed 5%-7%.

Lion Finance gained nearly 5%. The company's bottom line came in at GEL661.88 million, or GEL15.42 per share. This compares with GEL547.19 million, or GEL12.58 per share, last year. The company's revenue for the period rose 22.6% to GEL1.145 billion from GEL934.15 million last year.

Marks & Spencer rallied nearly 7%. The retailer reported a sharp rise in half-year profit despite the "onslaught of cost headwinds" facing the industry.

Burberry Group, HSBC Holdings, Convatec Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Next, Coca-Cola, Relx, IAG, BT, Barclays, Kingfisher, Standard Chartered, ICG, Informa, Sainsbury (J), Games Workshop, Pershing Square Holdings and GSK also moved up sharply.

Weir tanked nearly 10% despite reporting a year-over-year increase of 8% in third quarter group orders.

Ithaca Energy fell 7.7%. BP and Shell ended lower by about 2.7% and 1.6%, respectively.

Computacenter drifted lower by 5.1%. BAE Systems, BP, Diploma, Spirax Group, Halma, Smiths and IMI also ended notably lower.

In the German market, Heidelberg Materials soared nearly 10% after reporting stronger-than-expected third quarter earnings and raised its full-year outlook. The company increased its revenue by 10% to 6.41 billion euros in the third quarter.

Heidelberg Materials continues to expect the result from current operations to be between 3.40 billion and 3.65 billion euros.

Scout24 gained nearly 8%. The company's revenue for the third quarter increased 19.7% to EUR198.2 million from EUR165.6 million last year.

Continental surged 5.6%. The car parts supplier raised its profitability outlook for 2026. For the three-month period to September 30, the Group posted a net profit of EUR 349 million, or EUR 1.75 per share, compared with a net loss of EUR 756 million, or EUR 3.78 per share in the same period last year.

Zalando closed higher by a little over 8%. Deutsche Bank rallied 6.5%. Fresenius, Fresenius Medical Care, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Commerzbank, Adidas, Allianz and Bayer gained 4%-6%.

SAP, Volkswagen, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens Healthineers, Beiersdorf, Deutsche Post, Porsche Automobil Holding, Sumrise, Munich RE, MTU Aero Engines, Hannover RE, BASF and Siemens moved up 2%-4%.

Siemens Energy fell more than 7%. Hochtief shed 4.7% and Infineon drifted lower by 3.3%.

In the French market, Kering surged 6.5%. Hermes International, Renault, AXA, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, LVMH, Capgemini, Engie, Publicis Groupe, Dassault Systemes, Airbus, Sanofi, Edenred, Credit Agricole, Orange, Accor, L'Oreal, Saint-Gobain, Carrefour, Air Liquide, Pernod Ricard, Vinci and Michelin gained 3%-5%.

STMicroelectronics dropped more than 6%. Legrand shed 4.1% and Schneider Electric ended lower by 3.4%. Thales ended 2.1% down, and TotalEnergies closed with a loss of 1.25%.

In economic news, the S&P Global UK Composite PMI edged up to 52.9 in October, from 52 in September, slightly below the flash estimate of 53.1 but marking its highest level since February.

The S&P Global UK Services PMI rose to 52.8 in October, up from 52.1 in September, although below the preliminary estimate of 53.1. Nevertheless, the latest reading signaled the fastest expansion in services activity since February, supported by improving customer demand and stronger order books.

Data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global France Composite PMI for October was revised sharply down to 46.6 from the flash estimate of 48.4, falling below September's 51.1.

The S&P Global France Services PMI fell to 46.2 in October, revising lower from the preliminary estimate of 48.4 and slipping from 51.2 in the previous month. This marked the steepest contraction since May.