European stocks close on firm note on earnings, soft UK inflation data

FILE PHOTO – The German share index (DAX) can be seen on a large display in the trading room at the stock exchange. (is associated with: «European stocks close on firm note on earnings, soft UK inflation data») Andreas Arnold/dpa

European stocks closed higher on Wednesday as encouraging corporate earnings announcements and data showing a smaller-than-expected increase in UK consumer price inflation offset concerns about rising US-Iran tensions and higher oil prices.

Oil prices moved higher after the U.S. military carried out its 11th consecutive night of strikes against Iran, and President Trump vowed to bomb Pickaxe Mountain.

Iranian media reported explosions in Bushehr, home to the Iranian nuclear power plant.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.58%. The UK’s FTSE 100 gained 1.24%, Germany’s DAX moved up 0.58%, and France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.89%. Switzerland’s SMI edged up 0.12%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey closed higher.

Denmark and Ireland ended weak.

In the UK market, miners Endeavour Mining and Antofagasta moved up 5.3% and 3.5%, respectively. Fresnillo gained 3.7% after reaffirming production guidance for the years 2026, 2027, and 2028 following a solid operational performance during the second quarter of 2026.

Airtel Africa climbed 4.1%. Persimmon, SSE, Centrica, Babcock International, Segro, Weir Group, Prudential, Tritax Big Box REIT, Melrose Industries, Standard Chartered, Spirax Group, Smiths Group, Barratt Redrow, Whitbread, Vodafone Group, and HSBC Holdings gained 2%-3.5%.

Burberry Group dropped 3.3%. Pearson and Metlen Energy & Metals drifted down by about 2% and 1.9%, respectively. Informa and IG Group Holdings also ended notably lower.

In the German market, Airbus surged more than 7%. The aerospace group announced a €5 billion share buyback program to be carried out over the next three years and reaffirmed its earlier announced fiscal 2026 outlook of around 870 commercial aircraft deliveries and adjusted EBIT of around €7.5 billion ($8.55 billion).

Gea Group climbed 5.7% after reporting better-than-expected preliminary second-quarter fiscal 2026 results and raising annual guidance.

Infineon climbed nearly 3.5%. Deutsche Telekom, Merck, Daimler Truck Holding, Commerzbank, E.ON, Brenntag, Rheinmetall, BASF, MTU Aero Engines, Porsche Automobil Holding and RWE gained 1.3%-2%.

Siemens Energy, SAP, Scout24, Bayer, Fresenius Medical Care, Continental and Fresenius ended with sharp to moderate losses.

In the French market, TotalEnergies, Engie, Renault, Veolia Environment, Teleperformance, STMicroelectronics, BNP Paribas, Orange, Safran, Eurofins Scientific, Bouygues and Société Générale gained 1%-2%.

Pernod Ricard, Danone and Capgemini closed lower by about 2.7%, 2.2%, and 1.6%, respectively.

In economic news, data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK consumer price inflation slowed in June to the lowest since March last year, climbing 2.6% year-on-year, slower than the 2.8% increase in May. Prices were expected to climb 2.7%.

On a monthly basis, consumer price edged up 0.1%, as expected, compared to an increase of 0.2% in May.

Core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco remained unchanged at 2.6% in June.

In a separate communiqué, the ONS said output price inflation slowed to 3.5% in June from 3.7% in May. Similarly, input price inflation weakened to 7.3% from 9.3% in the previous month.