European Markets Close Mixed After Choppy Session

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed mixed on Wednesday after swinging between gains and losses for most part of the day's trading session, as investors stayed somewhat cautious, assessing corporate earnings announcements, and weighing the prospects of U.S. and Iran reaching an agreement to end their conflict and pave the way for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Data showing increase in Germany's manufacturing and services sector activity aided sentiment.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.04%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 settled 0.08% up, Germany's DAX drifted down 0.29% and France's CAC 40 crept up 0.03%. Switzerland's SMI climbed 0.61%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Iceland, Ireland, Russia and Spain ended higher.

Denmark, Finland, Greece, Norway and Poland settled weak, while Czech Republic, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Türkiye closed roughly flat.

In the UK market, Next surged 5.8%. The fashion and homeware retailer raised its outlook for the third time this fiscal year. Glencore moved up 3.2% after reporting a sharp rise in first-half earnings on the back of higher commodity prices.

Antofagasta, Anglo American Plc and Rio Tinto climbed 2.7%-3%. Endeavour Mining, Fresnillo and Glencore moved up 5.7%, 4.5% and 4.1%, respectively.

Coca-Coa HBC, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Rolls-Royce Holdings, AstraZeneca, Haleon, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Melrose Industries and IMI gained 2%-4%.

Prudential dropped more than 6%. HSBC Holdings ended 4.7% down.

Autotrader Group, Convatec Group, Vodafone Group, Entain, BP, Airtel Africa, Persimmon, Standard Chartered, BAE Systems, Shell and Smith & Nephew closed lower by 1%-3%.

In the German market, Fresenius moved up 5.2%, supported by better-than-expected second-quarter results and an upward revision in its full-year earnings guidance.

Beiersdorf rallied 5.1%. GEA Group, Bayer, MTU Aero Engines, Deutsche Boerse, Adidas, SAP and Brenntag gained 1%-2.5%.

Siemens Energy moved higher as the company's sales, margins and orders rose sharply in the third quarter.

Infineon Technologies closed lower by more than 5% despite the company reporting record quarterly revenue and raising its full-year revenue adjusted free cash flow forecasts.

Deutsche Post, Continental, Zalando, RWE, Vonovia, Daimler Truck Holding, Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Telekom, BMW and Volkswagen also ended notably lower.

In the French market, Publicis Groupe, Edenred, Kering, Accor, Capgemini, Eurofins Scientific, Societe Generale, Pernod Ricard and Carrefour gained 1%-3%.

Orange, STMicroelectronics, Stellantis, Michelin, Unibail Rodamco, Engie, Bouygues, LVMH and Renault ended notably lower.

In economic news, the S&P Global Germany Composite PMI was revised higher to 51.3 in July from a preliminary of 51.2, pointing to the first growth in private sector activity in four months. The manufacturing PMI reading increased to 52.2 from 50.3 a month earlier, while the Services PMI advanced to 49.8 from 48.6.

Data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global France Manufacturing PMI rose to 49.4 in July from 47.2 in the previous month, and slightly below market expectations of 49.6, signaling the softest contraction in private sector activity in three months. The Services PMI rose to 49.6 in July, up from June's 46.8%.

Data from INSEE showed industrial production in France rose 0.1% month-on-month in June 2025, missing market expectations of a 0.3% increase but rebounding from a 0.1% drop in the previous month.

The S&P Global UK Composite PMI rose to 52.2 in July from 49.3 in June, broadly matching the preliminary estimate of 52.1 and signaling the strongest expansion in private sector activity since April.

The S&P Global UK Services PMI increased to 52.1 in July, revised up from the preliminary 51.8 and recovering from June's 48.8, confirming a return to modest expansion following two months of contraction.

Eurozone producer prices declined for the first time in four months in June due to the fall in energy prices, Eurostat reported Wednesday. Producer prices dropped 0.3% on a monthly basis in June, in contrast to the 0.2% increase in May.

The euro area private sector expanded the most in eight months in July as output and new business rose for the first time since the start of the year, final purchasing managers' survey data from S&P Global showed. The final composite output index posted 52.0 in July, up from 50.0 in the previous month. The flash reading was 51.9.