This was CNBC’s live blog covering European markets.
European stocks closed higher Tuesday, in the wake of a global sell-off fueled by concerns over a potential artificial intelligence breakthrough in China that could pose a massive challenge to Western AI firms.
The pan-Europe Stoxx 600 index gained 0.5%, with the real-estate sector and utilities leading gains, both up by 1.1%. Consumer staples rose up by around 0.9%.
Biopharmaceutical firm Sartorius was the top performer on the index, gaining 11.5% after the company said in a preliminary full-year release that it had met profitability targets and had a “cautiously positive” outlook for 2025.
Top posts
- Software giant SAP beats profit estimates | view post
- DeepSeek ‘very good news’ for us, SAP CFO says | view post
- Siemens Energy preliminary results fuel slight recovery from AI-driven sell-off | view post
Regional markets traded in negative territory on Monday as investors in the region reacted to a potential AI breakthrough out of China, with the success of Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek sparking concerns over incumbent U.S. giants’ global leadership in AI.
Later on Wall Street Monday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite plunged amid concerns that an artificial intelligence stock bubble would pop because of DeepSeek‘s emergence, which has possibly made a competitive AI model at a fraction of the cost of Silicon Valley models.
Nvidia lost close to $600 billion in market cap on Monday, the biggest drop for any company on a single day in U.S. history.
Overnight, Hong Kong stocks rose Tuesday, while several Asia-Pacific markets, in Taiwan, South Korea and China, were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
European stocks moved higher on Tuesday
European markets ended the trading session higher on Tuesday.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index provisionally closed up around 0.5%. Germany’s Dax index gained 0.7% and the FTSE 100 ended tentatively higher by 0.4%.
Meanwhile, France’s CAC 40 and Italy’s MIB both closed 0.1% lower on the day.
— Ganesh Rao
Stocks open in the green
Stocks opened higher Tuesday morning.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained about 0.2%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat.
— Sean Conlon
European wage growth slowed in 2024, Indeed says
Shop employee stocking shelves in an Auchan hypermarket on the outskirts of Lyon in Caluire et Cuire, France on 15 Nov. 2024.
In the latest instalment to its Wage Tracker study, recruitment site Indeed found European wage growth slowed in 2024.
Published Tuesday, Indeed’s research analyzed job postings in the region and found that annual wage growth in the euro area came in at 3.3%, but varied among individual regional markets.
In France, annual wage growth fell from 3.4% in January to 1.8% in December, while in Germany it fell from 3.8% in January to 2.8% in December. The Netherlands ended 2024 with annual wage growth of 6.1%, cooling from its June peak of 8.2%.
— Chloe Taylor
Smiths Group hit by cyber attack
British engineering firm Smiths Group said Tuesday it was responding to a hacking incident that involved unauthorized access to its systems. Smiths said in a statement that it was working with cybersecurity experts to recover the systems that had been targeted and identify any impact on the wider business.
“The Company is taking steps to comply with all relevant regulatory requirements. An update will be provided as and when appropriate,” it said.
Shares of Smiths Group were 2% lower at 10:31 a.m. London time.
— Chloe Taylor
French consumer confidence recovers in January
French consumer confidence rose by 3 points month-on-month to 92 in January, its highest level since February 2022, according to the national statistics bureau.
The monthly consumer confidence survey signaled strengthening household confidence in the French economy, but the numbers are still below the long-term average of 100 points.
— Abby Ryanto
DeepSeek ‘very good news’ for us, SAP CFO says
SAP CFO Dominik Asam said Tuesday that DeepSeek is “very good news” for his company, following the market sell-off triggered by the prospect of intense competition from the Chinese startup’s AI app.
Asam told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” that the firm is always looking to upgrade its systems, and that the more choice it has to improve its AI hub, the better.
“So I’m not concerned about that … Competition, innovation on that front is extremely helpful for creating better products for our customers,” Asam told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday.
The German software giant posted fourth-quarter earnings today, beating profit expectations and upgrading its 2025 outlook. Half of SAP’s cloud order entry included AI.
Asam said the results showed things were “running very much according to plan” for the company.
SAP shares were just below the flatline at 9:17 a.m. London time.
— Abby Ryanto
Siemens Energy up 3% as preliminary results fuel slight recovery from AI-driven sell-off
Siemens Energy shares were 3% higher at 8:55 a.m. in London, after the company reported better-than-expected preliminary quarterly results in a release published after the market close on Monday.
Profit is expected to tumble year on year from 1.878 billion euros to 463 million euros in the fiscal first quarter, nonetheless coming in ahead of the 373 million euros expected in a company-published consensus estimate. That comes with its order intake set to decline 10.2%.
The Munich-based firm anticipates a revenue increase of 18.4% year on year to 8.942 billion euros. It also said it expected to exceed its current free cash flow pre-tax guidance of up to 1 billion euros for fiscal 2025, and would update the figure as part of its half-year results.
Full audited results for the first quarter are due Feb. 12.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a Tuesday note that the preliminary results showed “much stronger than expected fiscal Q1 results and cash flows.”
The company’s shares plunged 20% on Monday as part of the global sell-off triggered by Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek, which has raised the possibility of developing cheaper, less power-intensive AI tools that those made by Western companies. Siemens Energy has said its investments in power grids will help meet demand for the energy required for advances in the technology.
“We estimate the shares overreacted strongly (-20%) to the DeepSeek news, and now offer a very attractive buying opportunity,” the Deutsche Bank analysts said.
— Jenni Reid
ING to sell off Russian business to Global Development JSC
Dutch bank ING announced it will sell off its business in Russia to Moscow-based financial investor Global Development JSC.
The deal will effectively close ING’s activities in Russia, with the sale expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. Specific terms of the sale have not been disclosed.
The Dutch banking and financial services firm also said that it has not taken any new business with Russian entities since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.
— Abby Ryanto
Software giant SAP beats profit estimates, upgrades outlook
Germany’s SAP on Tuesday reported a 25% increase in adjusted operating profit to 8.153 billion euros ($8.512 billion) for the full year 2024, above the 22% increase flagged in a company-compiled analyst poll.
Revenue rose 11% in its core cloud and software businesses for the period, slightly ahead of consensus estimates.
Europe’s largest software maker also revised its operating profit outlook to 10.3 billion to 10.6 billion euros, up from a previous target of 10.2 billion euros. Analysts at JPMorgan said the upgrade was ahead of expectations.
SAP said that it met or exceeded all its financial outlook goals for 2024, in what CEO Christian Klein said was a “strong finish to the year.”
Shares were up 2% pre-market following its results release.
— Abby Ryanto
Fed will most likely cut rates twice more this year, strategist says
Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, sees two more rate cuts on the horizon for 2025.
“Our base case is that they cut interest rates twice this year, once in the second quarter, and then once again in the fourth quarter,” he told CNBC in a Monday interview.
As for this Wednesday’s FOMC meeting, Stovall is in agreement with many investors who believe that the U.S. central bank will most likely hold rates steady.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Apple overtakes Nvidia as world’s most valuable company
Apple became the most valuable publicly traded company once again on Monday, after Nvidia‘s rout sent its market value plummeting. Microsoft also surpassed the chipmaker, landing in the number two spot.
Shares of Nvidia tumbled 13.5% on concerns over possible competition from Chinese startup DeepSeek, which claims it launched a free, open-source language model at a fraction of the cost of its competitors.
Apple’s market cap currently sits near $3.4 billion, while Microsoft is at $3.2 billion. Nvidia’s market cap is just shy of $3.1 billion.
Just last week, Nvidia had reclaimed the top spot, replacing Apple as the most valuable company.
— Michelle Fox, Nick Wells
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open higher Tuesday.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 21 points higher at 8,522, Germany’s DAX up 73 points at 21,356, France’s CAC up 14 points at 7,926 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 70 points at 36,471, according to data from IG.
Earnings come from SAP, Foxtons Group, Logitech and LVMH on Tuesday, while data releases will include the latest French consumer confidence figures and Spain’s unemployment rate.
— Holly Ellyatt
