European stocks rose on Wednesday, recouping some of the previous session's losses, as oil prices fell amid stalled US-Iran negotiations.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.8% to 611.82 points, while Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.8% to 10,358.57 points, Germany's DAX added about 0.8% to 24,163.65 points, and France's CAC 40 rose 0.2% to 8,003.33 points.
Attention is focused on a range of corporate results, including those from Allianz, Deutsche Telekom, Zurich Insurance, E.ON, Merck, RWE, Hapag-Lloyd and Porsche, during today's session.
In a related development, Siemens announced a five-year, €6 billion ($7.04 billion) share buyback program, following its first-quarter net profit of €2.03 billion, which exceeded expectations.
Despite the strong results, Siemens shares fell by 1.3% at the start of trading.
The rise in European stocks today came after negative trading on Tuesday, amid growing concerns that a quick resolution to the war between the United States and Iran is becoming increasingly unlikely, along with mounting political pressure on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the possibility of a leadership challenge within the Labour Party.
Starmer told the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday that he had no intention of resigning, despite Labour's poor performance in the recent local elections, and affirmed his determination to continue governing. However, he continues to face mounting pressure, with several junior ministers and cabinet aides resigning in recent days.
In bond markets, UK government gilt yields surged on Tuesday amid concerns that fiscal discipline would erode in the event of a political change. However, yields retreated between 2 and 6 basis points on Wednesday morning as markets calmed down somewhat.
Globally, investors are awaiting a highly anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, where trade and the war with Iran are expected to top the agenda.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the month-old ceasefire between the United States and Iran was “incredibly fragile” and “in very critical condition,” after he rejected a counter-proposal from Tehran that he called “unacceptable” to end the conflict.
For his part, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Trump does not need congressional approval to resume strikes on Iran, in a statement that comes after the US administration exceeded the 60-day deadline stipulated in the War Powers Act to obtain authorization to use military force.
In Asia-Pacific markets, trading was mixed on Wednesday, as investors digested higher-than-expected US inflation data for April, amid growing concerns about rising oil prices and their impact on global prices.
Traders are awaiting further US inflation data today, with the Producer Price Index for April due later in the session, amid expectations in a Dow Jones survey of a 0.5% monthly increase, in line with the March reading.
In contrast, U.S. stock futures generally rose in early trading on Wednesday, signaling a relative improvement in risk appetite despite continued inflationary and geopolitical pressures.
