European stocks rise after earnings deluge; eurozone CPI due

Investing.com - European stocks rose Thursday, with investors ploughing through a steady supply of new corporate earnings against a backdrop of uncertain trade negotiations. 

At 03:15 ET (07:15 GMT), the DAX index in Germany climbed 0.7%, the CAC 40 in France gained 1.2% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.4%. 

European equities have been on tenterhooks for most of this week after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would be introducing 30% tariffs on imports from the European Union, effective from the start of August.

Trump said, in an interview Wednesday, that the United States was very close to a trade deal with India, while an agreement could possibly be reached with Europe as well.

These comments come as EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic was headed to Washington on Wednesday for tariff discussions.

Publicis lifts full-year growth forecast 

There are an abundance of European companies reporting quarterly results Thursday for investors to digest.

Publicis (EPA:PUBP) raised its full-year organic growth forecast after the French advertising firm reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results.

Novartis (SIX:NOVN) posted a 24% rise in second-quarter net income, as sales of key therapies including Kisqali and Entresto drove a strong U.S. performance for the drugmaker.

Volvo (OTC:VLVLY) Car (ST:VOLCARb) reported a steep fall in second-quarter adjusted operating profit, as the Swedish company said demand remained under pressure as tariffs hit.

Nordea Bank (ST:NDASE) reported a 6% decline in second-quarter net profit, with the Nordic bank citing pressure from lower policy rates and financial market volatility. 

ABB (ST:ABB) reported its highest-ever quarterly order intake, with the Swiss engineering group helped by surging demand from the United States and for products used in data centres being built to support artificial intelligence.

Earlier in the session, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) reported a sharp rise in its second-quarter net profit, beating market expectations as the chipmaker continued to benefit from robust artificial intelligence demand.

There are also results on Wall Street that will be carefully studied, including from streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).

Eurozone CPI due 

The final release of eurozone consumer inflation for June is due later in the session, and is expected to confirm last month’s CPI release at 2.0% on an annual basis, up from 1.9% the prior month.

Data released earlier Thursday showed that British annual wage growth, excluding bonuses, was slightly higher than expected at 5.0% in the three months to May, but overall the data showed that the country’s labor market is cooling.

Crude bounces back

Oil prices stabilized Thursday after three losing days, buoyed to a degree by stronger-than-expected economic data from the world’s top oil consumers.

At 03:15 ET, Brent futures slipped 0.1% to $68.44 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded largely unchanged at $66.38 a barrel.

China, the world’s largest crude importer, reported better-than-expected growth data recently, helping the overall tone, while the U.S.’s larger-than-expected oil inventory draw has also been a bullish factor.

U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels to 422.2 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, a steeper decline than expected, suggesting stronger refinery activity, tighter supply, and increased demand.