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Investing.com - European stocks edged higher Thursday, with investors showing a degree of confidence even after U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest salvo of trade tariffs.
At 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany gained 0.4%, the CAC 40 in France climbed 0.4% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.8%.
New U.S. tariff rates
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump sent letters dictating new U.S. tariff rates on at least seven more countries’ imports, adding to the letters sent to 14 other countries earlier this week.
He also announced a 50% tariff on Brazil after a spat with his Brazilian counterpart, with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva responding that new tariffs would be met with reciprocal measures.
The U.S. president also announced a 50% tariff on copper, making good on his earlier threat of such a move.
However, European investors have been somewhat buoyed by the fact that the European Union has avoided the latest round of U.S. tariffs, suggesting a deal between the two sides may be close.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said good progress had been made on a framework trade agreement and a deal may even be possible within days.
German inflation confirmed at ECB’s target
German inflation eased to 2.0% in June, the European Central Bank’s target level, confirming preliminary data.
German consumer prices, harmonised to compare with other European Union countries, had risen by 2.1% year-on-year in May.
The ECB is expected to wait until September to cut its key policy rate again as officials eye ongoing trade uncertainty and the recent appreciation of the euro, according to analysts at Capital Economics.
In June, the ECB slashed borrowing costs for the eighth time in a year, bringing its key deposit rate down by 25 basis points to 2.0%.
Across the pond, investors will keep an eye on the weekly jobless claims data as another gauge of the strength of the U.S. labor market, while Federal Reserve’s Christopher Waller and Mary Daly are set to speak during the session.
Porsche expects hefty tariffs hit
In the corporate sector, Porsche (ETR:PSHG_p) expects a €300 million ($351 million) hit to results as a consequence of absorbing U.S. import tariffs in April and May, the German luxury sports car manufacturer said ahead of quarterly results.
WPP (LON:WPP) has named Cindy Rose, a senior executive from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), as its new chief executive, a day after it downgraded profit forecasts.
Rose has been on WPP’s board since 2019 and will take over from outgoing CEO Mark Read at the advertising giant on Sept. 1.
Chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut (SIX:BARN) reported a 6.3% drop in sales volume for the first nine months of fiscal year 2024-25, while revenue rose 56.7% in local currencies, driven by higher cocoa prices.
Activist investor Standard Investments has halved its stake in London-listed Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT) after a six-month campaign that forced the British specialty chemicals company into a major overhaul.
Oil prices steady
Crude prices steadied Thursday as investors assessed the uncertain trade environment as well as signs of strong U.S. gasoline demand.
At 03:05 ET, Brent futures traded largely flat at $70.19 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.1% to $68.34 a barrel.
Uncertainty surrounding the potential impact of tariffs on global demand has led to a more cautious buying environment, particularly with geopolitical risk premiums fading as the Israel-Iran truce holds.
Elsewhere, U.S. crude stocks rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Gasoline demand rose 6% to 9.2 million barrels per day last week, the EIA said.