European Stocks Hold Near Records

European stocks edged slightly lower on Wednesday, with both the STOXX 50 and the STOXX 600 slipping 0.1%, following a subdued session the previous day as investors continued to digest corporate earnings. Commerzbank shares fell 1.8% after results failed to impress investors, despite the bank reporting a record operating profit for 2025. Dassault Systèmes plunged more than 19%, making it the worst performer on the STOXX 600, after posting a profit miss and issuing guidance for only modest growth in 2026. Among other notable decliners, LVMH fell 1%, SAP lost 1.9%, Airbus declined 1.3%, and UBS slipped 1.2%. On the upside, TotalEnergies rose 0.7% despite reporting lower earnings that narrowly missed expectations. Siemens Energy surged more than 5% after its net profit nearly tripled. Ferrari gained 0.5% despite missing earnings and revenue estimates, while Heineken jumped 3% after posting higher FY25 profits.

European equity markets were set to open modestly higher on Wednesday, after weaker-than-expected US retail sales data strengthened expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts later this year. Investor focus now turns to the delayed US jobs report due later in the session, followed by US consumer inflation data on Friday. In Europe, attention will be on Italian industrial production and Turkish retail sales figures. Markets will also digest a busy slate of corporate earnings from major companies, including TotalEnergies, Siemens Energy, Commerzbank, Heineken, and Dassault Systèmes. In premarket trading, Euro Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 futures were both up around 0.1%.

European stock indices closed mixed on Tuesday following the record highs touched in the previous session amid contrasting earnings results from the Eurozone's largest companies. The STOXX 50 inched down to 6,050 and the STOXX 600 held at a record high of 621. SAP, Infineon, and Adyen led the gains among the tech companies to extend yesterday's rebound from the broad-software selloff in the previous week, triggered by concerns that automation tools would steal demand for specialty software as a services. Meanwhile, Ferrari soared over 10% after beating estimates on both profits and guidance. Other luxury brands were also higher after Kering also shared optimistic corporate results. On the other hand, financial services providers pared some of their recent gains with AXA, UniCredit, and Allianz dropping more than 2.5%.