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European Stocks Close Higher Thursday; Eurozone Business Activity Holding Firm

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European stock markets closed higher Thursday amid easing bond yields.

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5%, Germany's DAX 40 gained 0.6%, the FTSE 100 advanced 0.7%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.1%, and the Swiss Market Index increased 0.2%.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index, which combines the Manufacturing PMI Output Index and the Services PMI Business Activity Index, held steady at 52.0 in August from July.

"Momentum in the industrial economy has picked up nicely and the service sector has shaken off the initial weakness seen after energy prices surged at the start of the Middle East war," Joe Hayes, S&P Global Market Intelligence's senior principal economist, said in a statement. "Taken alongside the resilience in economic activity as illustrated by the latest figures, the European Central Bank may feel a tightening of policy at next week's meeting is now justified."

In corporate news, UBS is facing renewed scrutiny from the US Senate over Credit Suisse's handling of Nazi-linked accounts, with the Senate Judiciary Committee seeking responses after determining the bank had not fully addressed its earlier requests, Bloomberg reported.

Shares of the Swiss bank fell 0.4% in Zurich.

Shell has completed its acquisition of ARC Resources after receiving all required shareholder, court and regulatory approvals, the company said late Wednesday.

Shares of Shell declined 0.2% in London.

BP has drawn interest from UK energy firm EnQuest regarding a potential purchase of its UK North Sea oil and gas operations, CNBC reported, citing an interview with EnQuest CEO Amjad Bseisu.

Meanwhile, BP told the union representing workers at its refinery in Whiting, Indiana, that it is willing to restart negotiations, or work through a federal mediator, to end a lockout that began March 19.

Shares of BP lost 0.4% in London.

Nokia, Volkswagen, Tesla, Amazon.com, and other global companies have named businesses blacklisted by Western regulatory authorities as potentially embedded in their supply chains, the Financial Times reported.

Shares of Nokia dropped 1.6% in Helsinki, while shares of Volkswagen advanced 3.4% in Frankfurt.

Ryanair Holdings reached a collective bargaining agreement for cabin crew at its Arlanda base in Sweden, the Swedish Transport Workers' Union said.

Shares of the Irish airline decreased 0.6% in Dublin.

Eni signed a 25-year hydrocarbon production participation contract with Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA for the development of the Junin-5 oil field, becoming the exclusive operator.

Shares of the Italian oil and gas major rose 0.2% in Milan.

TotalEnergies has finalized its acquisition of a 40% operated interest in Namibia's PEL83 license, which contains the Mopane discovery, completing a transaction agreed with Galp in December.

Shares of the French oil and gas major eased 0.2% in Paris.

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Update: US Equity Indexes Close Higher Amid Declining Treasury Yields, Rising Crude Oil

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes rose on Wednesday as government bond yields fell and crude oil climbed amid concern that hostilities between Washington and Tehran are taking a turn for the worse.The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% to 26,217.83, the S&P 500 climbed 0.5% to 7,666.60, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.6% to 53,061.95.All sectors, except real estate, rose. Materials and communication services topped the gainers.The additional strikes Tuesday on Iran led to Tehran attacking Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait even though US President Donald Trump had warned that Iran would be "hit much harder" if it retaliated to the first strikes in over a month. "They will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!" Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran will "continue to feel the squeeze" from the United States until it drops any nuclear weapons ambitions and ends support for armed groups in the Middle East, the Associated Press reported.The Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps said two oil tankers exploded after hitting a mine and are now on fire, Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported Wednesday.The Iranian attacks "constitute a flagrant violation of sovereignty," the United Arab Emirates' Foreign Ministry said in a statement, Al Jazeera reported. The ministry reiterated its "support for all measures aimed at safeguarding" the "security and stability" of countries pulled into the war, the news report said.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract rose 0.6% to $90.75 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent climbed 0.8% to $95.37 per barrel. Both crude types were down by more than 0.5% earlier in the session.Most US Treasury yields fell. The 10-year yield declined 1.6 basis points to 4.78%. The two-year yield declined 2.7 basis points to 4.37%.Gold futures advanced 0.9% to $4,436.3, and silver futures marched 0.9% higher to $65.94.Meanwhile, ADP's monthly measure of private payrolls showed a 38,000 increase in August, below a 47,000 gain expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey, following a 46,000 increase in July. Service-providing jobs climbed 48,000, with education and health services jobs up 45,000, while manufacturing sector jobs contracted 17,000."Pay can tell us a lot about today's choppy hiring," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. "To understand hiring patterns, you have to look deeply into where pay growth is accelerating, where it's slowing, and for whom. Once-predictable wage growth has been overtaken by the complexities of demographic change, persistent inflation, and AI's effects on jobs."New orders for US factory goods rose 0.9% in July, above expectations for a 0.7% increase in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following a 0.2% decrease in June. Excluding a 2.3% increase in transportation orders, new orders would have been up 0.6% after a 0.1% decline in June.Dell Technologies (DELL) jumped 16%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, after the company reported higher fiscal Q2 non-GAAP adjusted earnings and revenue, and raised its fiscal 2027 guidance.Palo Alto Networks (PANW) sank 9.3%, the worst performer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, as the cybersecurity firm's fiscal Q4 adjusted gross margin declined year over year.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$DELL$PANW
Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Rise Amid Lower Treasury Yields, Higher Crude Oil

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes rose after midday Wednesday, while government bond yields slipped and crude oil prices advanced amid a worsening of hostilities against Iran.The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% to 26,177.4, the S&P 500 climbed 0.4% to 7,660.9, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.4% to 52,955.4. All sectors, except consumer discretionary and real estate, rose. Communication services and materials topped the gainers.The additional strikes Tuesday on Iran led to Tehran attacking Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait even though US President Donald Trump had warned that Iran would be "hit much harder" if it retaliated to the first strikes in over a month. "They will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!" Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday.The Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps said two oil tankers exploded after hitting a mine and are now on fire, Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported Wednesday.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract rose 0.7% to $90.89 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent climbed 1% to $95.61 per barrel. Both crude types were down by more than 0.5% earlier in the session.Most US Treasury yields slipped, albeit moderately. The 10-year yield edged down by less than one basis point to 4.8%. The two-year yield slipped less than one basis point to 4.39%.Gold futures advanced 0.4% to $4,415.3, and silver futures marched 0.2% higher to $65.52.Meanwhile, ADP's monthly measure of private payrolls showed a 38,000 increase in August, below a 47,000 gain expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey, following a 46,000 increase in July. Service-providing jobs climbed 48,000, with education and health services jobs up 45,000, while manufacturing sector jobs contracted 17,000."Pay can tell us a lot about today's choppy hiring," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. "To understand hiring patterns, you have to look deeply into where pay growth is accelerating, where it's slowing, and for whom. Once-predictable wage growth has been overtaken by the complexities of demographic change, persistent inflation, and AI's effects on jobs."New orders for US factory goods rose 0.9% in July, above expectations for a 0.7% increase in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following a 0.2% decrease in June. Excluding a 2.3% increase in transportation orders, new orders would have been up 0.6% after a 0.1% decline in June.Dell Technologies (DELL) jumped 9.4%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, after the company reported higher fiscal Q2 non-GAAP earnings and revenue, and raised its fiscal 2027 guidance.Palo Alto Networks (PANW) sank 11%, the worst performer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, as the cybersecurity firm's fiscal Q4 adjusted gross margin declined year over year.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$DELL$PANW
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds Rise as US Equities Advance After Midday

Broad Market IndicatorsBroad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV were higher. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.1%.US equity indexes rose as crude oil prices and government bond yields fluctuated.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) each added about 0.2%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) edged down 0.3%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) rose 0.2%, and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) slipped 0.2%.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) added 0.4%, while iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) was up 0.1%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) added 0.7%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) advanced 2.1%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), declined 2%.CommoditiesCrude oil rose 1.1%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) added 0.3%. Natural gas gained 2.4%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was up 0.2%.Gold on Comex added 0.4%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was up 1%. Silver rose 0.2%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) gained 1.3%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) added 0.7%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) gained 0.6%, and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) was up 1%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) added 0.3%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was 0.4% higher, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) advanced 1%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) rose 0.8%. iShares US Healthcare (IYH) and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) were also higher. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) added 0.5%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) rose 0.1%. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) were also higher.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) was down marginally. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) was flat, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) fell 1.3%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) slipped 0.2%.

Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH