Europe: Stoxx 600 closes higher, focus shifts to Nvidia results

Europe’s Stoxx 600 recovered slightly on Wednesday (Aug 27) after a sell-off in the previous session, as investors eyed political risks in France and awaited earnings from artificial intelligence (AI) chip leader Nvidia.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up 0.1 per cent, a day after registering its largest drop in nearly a month. Most other regional bourses, however, closed in the red.

France’s CAC 40 bounced back 0.4 per cent from a three-week low hit in the previous session’s sell-off, sparked by concerns over a potential collapse of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou’s government next month.

Three main opposition parties said on Monday that they would not back Bayrou in a confidence vote, which he announced for September 8, over his plans for sweeping budget cuts.

If the government falls, President Emmanuel Macron could name a new prime minister immediately, ask Bayrou to stay on as head of a caretaker government or call a snap election.

“A lot has already been priced in, especially for domestic names ... French banks, utilities, business services – but I would expect uncertainty to remain for the next few weeks,” said Christophe Hautin, equity portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors.

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Investors are awaiting earnings from Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, for fresh cues on the AI trade, after a blistering technology stock rally hit a speed bump in August.

European corporate earnings have been resilient so far, with more than 52 per cent of companies that have reported second-quarter earnings till Tuesday, exceeding analysts’ estimates.

“Investors want to assess to what degree tariffs and the uncertainty of the past few months have affected business confidence ... but the macro outlook for Europe looks pretty solid,” said Nicholas Brooks, head of economic and investment research at ICG.

Heavyweight banks led sectoral losses, down 1.3 per cent. Shares in Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank fell 3.4 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively, after a Goldman Sachs downgrade.

On the flip side, the personal and household goods sector gained 1.5 per cent. Luxury stocks led the charge, with the broader index hitting a near one-month high.

Swatch rose 6.3 per cent, to top the Stoxx 600, after the Swiss watchmaker’s CEO said the company will be able to partly offset the impact from US tariffs through price increases, analysts said.

DiaSorin fell 5.8 per cent, the most on Stoxx 600, after JPMorgan initiated coverage on the Italian medical diagnostics group at “underweight”.

JD Sports rose 3.6 per cent on signs of improving US sales. REUTERS