FTSE 100, DAX, Renk earnings, European stocks

The European stock market ended the day higher with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally rising 0.55%.

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.19%, while France’s CAC 40 was 0.66% higher, and the German DAX added 0.69%.

— Sawdah Bhaimiya

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union, the U.S., and NATO were able to come to better common ground on the war in Ukraine.

“Together with @POTUS, @ZelenskyyUa, and other European leaders, we have had a very good call,” Von der Leyen said in a post on X after attending a virtual call with U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“Today Europe, the US and NATO have strengthened the common ground for Ukraine. We will remain in close coordination. Nobody wants peace more than us, a just and lasting peace,” Von der Leyen added.

The meeting occurred just days before Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

— Sawdah Bhaimiya

Top tech executives are at the forefront of a recent swathe of unprecedented deals with U.S. President Donald Trump.

In just the last few days, the White House confirmed that two U.S. chipmakers, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, would be allowed to sell advanced chips to China in exchange for the U.S. government receiving a 15% cut of their revenues in the Asian country.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, meanwhile, recently announced plans to increase the firm’s U.S. investment commitment to $600 billion over the next four years. The move was widely seen as a bid to get the tech giant out of Trump’s crosshairs on tariffs — and appears to have worked for now.

Altogether, analysts say the deals show just how important it is for the world’s largest companies to find some tariff relief.

“The flurry of deal-making is an effort to secure lighter treatment from tariffs,” Paolo Pescatore, technology analyst at PP Foresight, told CNBC by email.

“In some shape or form, all of the big tech companies have been negatively impacted by tariffs. They can ill afford to fork out on millions of dollars in additional fees that will further dent profits as underlined by recent quarterly earnings,” Pescatore said.

Read the full story here.

— Sam Meredith

Wienerberger confirmed its guidance on Wednesday, after first-half revenue grew 6% year-on-year to reach 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion).

The building materials firm posted just over 380 million euros operating EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) for the period.

Shares were last seen trading 0.6% higher.

— Jordan Butt

Shares of German travel operator Tui were up 1.8% by 9:28 a.m. in London (4:28 a.m. ET), after the firm posted core earnings ahead of expectations in its fiscal third quarter.

Tui also raised its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday, saying it had benefitted from diversification and a later Easter. The company said summer bookings are down 2%, while average prices are up 3%, with a continued trend toward later bookings from customers.

— Matthew Ward-Perkins

Wind turbine maker Vestas has backed its full-year outlook this morning, despite posting a miss on second quarter profit. 

The Danish manufacturer said it had experienced good momentum in the EMEA region, but noted that political and tariff uncertainty remains, especially in the United States.

Shares were last seen trading 1.4% higher.

— Brittany Dawe

Shares of defense giant Renk are now leading the Stoxx 600 index, after gaining 4.9% as of 9:15 a.m. in London (4:15 a.m. ET).

That comes after the German company, which makes parts for tanks, beat earnings forecasts for the first half of the year and reported a record order intake.

— Chloe Taylor

German defense giant Renk said Wednesday that its order intake hit a record high in the first half of the year, after rising 47% year on year to hit 921 million euros ($1.1 billion).

It said its defense business was driving the growth.

The company, which makes gear boxes for tanks, said its order backlog hit 5.9 billion euros in the first half, and confirmed its full-year guidance.

Second-quarter revenue jumped 27.5% to 348 million euros, beating analyst expectations, according to LSEG data.

Shares were 2.3% higher at 8:20 a.m. in London (3:20 a.m. ET).

— Chloe Taylor

Twenty minutes into Wednesday’s session, European equities are broadly moving higher, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 gaining 0.45% so far.

Germany’s DAX index is around 0.7% higher, while the French CAC 40 and London’s FTSE 100 were last seen trading 0.4% and 0.3% higher, respectively.

— Chloe Taylor

It isn’t just stocks in Europe that are on the rise.

Overnight in Asia, shares have been rallying, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 hitting an all-time high and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech Index — home to some of China’s biggest tech firms — adding more than 2%.

That followed a session on Wall Street that saw both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite hit record highs, as U.S. inflation data raised markets’ expectations of a rate cut from the Federal Reserve.

— Chloe Taylor

Good morning from London, where more sweltering weather is on its way.

Stocks are also looking set to heat up somewhat, with futures tied to the FTSE 100 last seen trading 0.2% higher. Those tied to the German DAX are 0.5% higher, while futures tied to the French CAC 40 are up by 0.4%.

— Chloe Taylor