This was CNBC’s live blog covering European markets.
European markets closed at a record high Thursday amid a flurry of earnings releases and a quarter-point rate cut by the Bank of England.
The regional benchmark Stoxx 600 ended the trading day higher by 1.26% as almost all sectors traded in positive territory.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose 1.3%, also hitting a record high. Earlier the British pound tumbled 1% against the U.S. dollar — suggesting traders expect a clear path of rate cuts ahead — despite the central bank stressing it would act “carefully” in its future decisions and raising its inflation forecast.
The fact that all policymakers voted to reduce rates while two of nine voting members unexpectedly favored a bigger half-percent cut was seen as a dovish signal by the market, which has almost fully priced in three more 25-basis-point cuts this year.
“The unanimous decision to loosen policy suggests that concerns among rate setters over the U.K.’s struggling economy are currently outweighing worries over rising inflation, opening the door for another rate cut sooner rather than later,” said Suren Thiru, economics director at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. The BOE slashed its average annual growth forecast for 2025 to 0.75% from 1.5%.
In European earnings, shipping giant Maersk popped 6.35% after beating fourth-quarter profit expectations, despite forecasting a weaker result this year.
The Stoxx autos index shook off early losses to trade 1.1% higher despite continued uncertainty over the impact of U.S. tariffs this year. However, Sweden’s Volvo Cars lost 11% after warning that 2025 would be a challenging year in which EV competition from China would intensify and market growth would slow.
Danish brewer Carlsberg meanwhile reported a slight miss in fourth-quarter sales and pointed to lower growth in 2025.
Earnings were also out from ING, ArcelorMittal, AstraZeneca, Ørsted, Vinci, L’Oreal, Siemens Healthineers and Telenor.
Europe stocks close at record high
European stocks have closed at a record high, recuperating their losses since the U.S.-China trade war flared up earlier this week.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up 1.26%. Meanwhile, other European indexes like Germany’s Dax, France’s CAC 40, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 provisionally closed higher between 1.2% and 1.5%.
— Ganesh Rao
Stocks open Thursday’s session positive
After two consecutive sessions in the green, stocks continued to trade higher on Thursday.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 56 points, or 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.1%.
— Sean Conlon
Novo and Lilly still leaders in obesity drug development despite competition, Barclays says
Emily Field, head of European pharmaceuticals research at Barclays, weighs in on rising competition in the global obesity drug market.
Bank of England cuts interest rates as two members vote for 0.5-percentage-point cut
The Bank of England cut interest rates by the expected 0.25 percentage points on Thursday, as its press release cemented market bets on further reductions this year.
Sterling was down 1% against the U.S. dollar at 12:30 p.m. in London, as investors braced for further divergence between the BOE and the Federal Reserve, which has stalled cuts amid concerns about U.S. tariffs fueling inflation.
Yields on British government bonds fell following the release, with the 2-year gilt yield down 3 basis points to 4.105%, its lowest level since October 2024 — before the release of the U.K. government’s flagship tax-raising budget.
— Jenni Reid
Volvo Cars CEO on tariffs: It’s going to be turbulent and part of the challenge for 2025
Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan says the automaker could consider both production and supplier relocation if needed in the face of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Societe Generale shares jump on profit beats, 2025 guidance
A logo outside a Societe Generale SA office building in central Paris, France, on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024.
Societe Generale shares popped in early trade after the French lender posted sharp year-on-year hikes in fourth-quarter and full-year profit and announced an 872-million-euro ($903 million) share buyback scheme.
The bank’s stock was up 8.71% at 8:42 a.m. London time.
Societe Generale on Thursday reported that group net income more than doubled to 1.04 billion euros in the fourth quarter. Across 2024 as a whole, net income was up 69% at 4.2 billion euros, with the bank citing “materially” improved performance and discipline on expenditures.
“Strong capital build-up, strong and sustainable business growth, strong cost control and risk management, and a material progress in our integration projects led to the doubling of the earnings per share,” group CEO Slawomir Krupa said in a statement accompanying the results.
The bank also proposed a cash dividend of 1.09 euros per share and increased its payout ratio to 50% of its net income.
This year, it targets year-on-year revenue growth of over 3% and an increase in its Return on Tangible Equity — a measure of profitability — to more than 8%.
— Ruxandra Iordache
Europe stocks rise; FTSE 100 leads ahead of BOE decision
European stock markets were broadly higher in early deals Thursday, with the Stoxx 600 index climbing 0.68% as sentiment continues to rebuild following the tariff-sparked sell-off on Monday.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 1% at 8:45 a.m. in London, while the British pound dropped 0.45% against the U.S. dollar, as traders gear up for an interest rate announcement and forecasts from the Bank of England.
The central bank is widely expected to cut rates by a quarter-point, so attention will be on policymakers’ communications on inflationary pressures and the U.K. growth outlook.
Yields on U.K. government bonds, which have cooled significantly following a spike last month, were slightly higher. The 2-year gilt yield was up two basis points at 4.162%.
— Jenni Reid
Volvo Cars reports stronger 2024 profit but warns of challenges ahead
Sweden’s Volvo Cars on Thursday reported a 12% rise in full-year operating income and record revenue, but warned of severe market challenges ahead from intensifying electric vehicle competition and global tariffs.
Shares slid 6% at the European market open Thursday.
Profit slid 28% in the final three months of the year, which the company said was affected by a one-off 1.7 billion kronor impairment related to its joint venture with Swedish battery developer Northvolt, Novo Energy. Year-on-year sales for the fourth quarter nudged 1% higher, but shed 6% in China and 2% in the U.S.
The company reiterated 2026 guidance to deliver a core earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin of 7-8%, but said 2025 would be a “challenging and transition year” toward Volvo Cars’ long-term growth ambitions, as it expected slower market growth and “increased discounts” across the industry.
This will make it difficult to match the company’s 2024 volumes and profitability, it added.
“In [20]25 I think we’re going to see that turbulence increase. And the way I frame it is, I think we’re going to see turbulence in terms of trade tariffs, maybe some geopolitics, and we’re going to see some policy changes. I also think we’re going to see the transition to EV slow down a little bit, which is okay for Volvo Cars, because we have mild hybrid technology as well as plug in hybrid technology,” CEO Jim Rowan told CNBC.
— Jenni Reid
Danish brewer Carlsberg slightly misses on fourth-quarter sales, points to slower growth in 2025
Danish brewer Carlsberg on Thursday reported a slight miss in fourth-year sales and pointed to lower growth in 2025.
The company posted fourth-quarter sales to 15.72 Danish kroner ($2.18 billion), coming in just below the 15.79 billion Danish kroner estimated by analysts in an LSEG poll.
Full-year sales totaled 75.01 billion Danish kroner, up 1.9% year-on-year on a reported basis and virtually in line with the 74.91 billion Danish kroner anticipated.
— Karen Gilchrist
China stocks and currency face a tough 2025 regardless of tariffs, Capital Economics says
A floating liquified natural gas (FLNG) facility “NGUYA FLNG” arrives at shipyard with the help of tugboats on Dec. 11, 2024 in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province of China.
Stocks in China and the renminbi face “a tough year regardless of how trade tensions play out,” according to Thomas Mathews, head of Asia Pacific markets at Capital Economics.
Higher tariffs, or elevated tariffs that remain where they are, leave plenty of room for “China’s markets to deteriorate,” according to the firm, a London-based researcher. “But tariffs are, in our view, only one reason to be downbeat,” Mathews wrote Wednesday.
China’s tepid economy ought to keep down bond yields, and the central bank is more likely “to let the currency weaken.”
Meanwhile, stock market investors may be too optimistic about the effect of government measures to boost the economy and too confident about the ability of companies in China to “generate sustained growth in earnings per share,” Mathews said, arguing that “despite a recent pick-up, EPS are still lower than they were ten years ago. And the economic backdrop of that decade was much rosier than we think the next one will be.”
— Scott Schnipper
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open higher Thursday.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 53 points higher at 8,672, Germany’s DAX up 92 points at 21,640, France’s CAC up 26 points at 7,905 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 70 points higher at 36,772, according to data from IG.
Earnings are set to come from ING, ArcelorMittal, Carlsberg, AstraZeneca, Ørsted, Vinci, L’Oreal, Siemens Healthineers, Telenor, Societe Generale and Maersk.
The bank of England is set to deliver its latest monetary policy decision Thursday, with the central bank widely expected to implement its first interest rate cut of the year.
— Holly Ellyatt
