European stocks edge higher as Middle East ceasefire holds; Powell in spotlight

Investing.com - European stocks edged higher Wednesday, with sentiment helped by the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran appearing to hold, while investors digested comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. 

At 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany gained 0.2%, the CAC 40 in France climbed 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.2%. 

Israel-Iran ceasefire holds, so far

The phased ceasefire between Israel and Iran, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump late Monday, has had a shaky start, with Trump having to condemn both nations for violating the deal soon after its declaration.

Even so, the announcement has raised hopes that the 12-day conflict marked by deadly airstrikes may finally be winding down.

Attention now turns to a gathering of NATO leaders in The Hague later in the session, with European allies hoping a pledge to hike defence spending will prompt the U.S. president to reconfirm his commitment to the alliance.

The summit is expected to endorse a higher defence spending goal of 5% of gross domestic product - a move which should appease Trump - and a big increase on the current goal of 2% of GDP.

Powell heads back to Capitol Hill

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will be back on Capitol Hill later in the session to give testimony before the Senate, having appeared before the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Pressed by Republican members of the House Financial Services committee about why the Fed isn’t cutting rates, as President Donald Trump has demanded, Powell said he and many at the Fed expect inflation to start rising soon, and that the central bank was in no rush to ease borrowing costs in the meantime.

That said, Powell also stated that a majority of Fed officials believe it would be "appropriate to cut later this year." He noted that lower inflation readings and a weaker labor market "could mean earlier cut."

The economic data slate is largely empty in Europe, although investors could keep an eye on the latest release of Spanish gross domestic product for the first quarter.

Tesla’s European sales fall sharply in May

In the corporate sector, Babcock International (LON:BAB) reported a 51% rise in statutory operating profit for the year ended March 31, 2025, and announced a £200 million share buyback to be executed in fiscal year 2026. 

The engineering services company cited growth in its Nuclear and Marine divisions as key drivers of the performance. 

Elsewhere, Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) European sales fell sharply in May, government data showed on Wednesday, even as broader car registrations in the region advanced on strong demand for electric vehicles. 

Tesla’s new registrations in the European Union, the European free trade area, and the UK, fell 27.9% year-on-year to 13,863 vehicles in May, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association showed. 

Strength in EV sales saw overall European car registrations rise 1.9% y-o-y to 1.1 million vehicles in May. Petrol and diesel sales continued to struggle, dropping 19.5% and 27.6% year-on-year, respectively. 

Crude bounces after hefty falls

Crude prices edged higher Wednesday after falling sharply in the last two sessions as a ceasefire between Iran and Israel diluted the chances of oil flows being disrupted.

At 03:05 ET, Brent futures climbed 1.6% to $67.25 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.7% to $65.47 a barrel.

Prices had plummeted to a near three-week low on Tuesday after President Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, helping quell some concerns over supply disruptions stemming from their conflict.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute, released on Tuesday, showed that U.S. inventories shrank nearly 4.3 million barrels in the past week, following on from a bumper 10.1 mb draw from the week before.

Outsized draws in U.S. inventories helped spur some confidence in fuel demand, which was seen picking up sharply with the summer season.

Official inventory data from the Energy Information Administration are due later on Wednesday.