Asia Markets
European Stocks Close Higher in Monday Trading as Oil Prices Plunge on Pause in Fighting
The European stock markets closed higher in Monday trading as oil prices fell roughly 6% after the US temporarily halted its attacks on Iran, giving investors hope that peace talks may resume.Tech stocks led the gainers on the bourses, while energy stocks sank.The Stoxx Europe rose 0.3%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.3%, the FTSE 100 advanced 0.7%, France's CAC increased 0.8%, and the Swiss Market Index gained 0.8%.In corporate news, AstraZeneca reported Q2 core earnings Monday of $2.63 per diluted share, up from $2.17 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $2.49.Revenue for the quarter ended June 30 was $15.38 billion, compared with $14.46 billion a year earlier. Analysts expected $15.43 billion.For 2026, the company continues to expect core EPS to rise by a low double-digit percentage and revenue to grow by a mid-to-high single-digit percentage. Analysts are looking for $10.24 and $63.18 billion, respectively. The company also raised its interim dividend by 3 cents to $1.06 per share.The British pharmaceutical company also said Monday that its Ultomiris missed the primary endpoint in a phase 3 trial in patients with thrombotic microangiopathy after stem-cell transplant.The therapy failed to achieve statistical significance for event-free survival at 26 weeks in adult and adolescent patients, though the study showed a trend toward benefit versus placebo, the company said.Additionally, the company said a phase 3 trial of sonesitatug vedotin in Claudin 18.2-positive advanced gastric, gastroesophageal junction and esophageal adenocarcinoma cancers met its primary endpoint of overall survival in third-line and later-line treatment, as well as a key secondary endpoint in the broader second-line and later-line setting, but did not achieve statistical significance for its other primary endpoint of progression-free survival.Shares of AstraZeneca gained 1.5% in London.HSBC said Monday it plans to launch an artificial intelligence facility in Singapore in H2 to develop AI capabilities that can be used across its global operations.The Global AI Centre of Excellence will initially focus on agentic treasury solutions and AI-powered digital payments, according to the statement. HSBC plans to hire more than 100 AI specialists for the facility and develop a talent pipeline in data science and natural language processing, among other disciplines, the company said.Financial terms were not disclosed.HSBC is also naming Mitch VanZandt and David Schultz as debt capital markets leaders across the US as part of a plan to increase its regional capacity and to help companies borrow money from investors, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing an internal memo.VanZandt comes from Morgan Stanley, where he worked with tech clients on debt, while Schultz was promoted from a debt capital markets position within HSBC, the report said.HSBC did not immediately reply to' request for comment.Shares of HSBC increased 0.2% in London.Vodafone Group reported fiscal Q1 operating profit Monday of 3.87 billion euros ($4.45 billion), up from 1.02 billion euros a year earlier.Revenue for the quarter ended June 30 was 10.29 billion euros, compared with 9.39 billion euros a year earlier. An analyst polled by FactSet expected 10.29 billion euros.Shares of the British telecommunications operator advanced 5% in London.TotalEnergies said it has decided to appeal a June 25 ruling by the Paris Judicial Court in a climate-related duty-of-vigilance case.The French energy firm said it believes climate change, as a global phenomenon, falls outside the scope of France's duty of vigilance law, which requires large companies to carry out a vigilance plan to prevent severe human rights and environmental risks linked to their own operations, subsidiaries, suppliers and subcontractors.TotalEnergies said the law does not extend to the actions of customers over whom it has no control. The company said it will present those arguments before the Paris Court of Appeal.Shares of the French oil and gas major dropped close to 2% in Paris.Linde said Monday it signed six new power purchase agreements to source renewable electricity in Europe, Africa, and India.The contracts will provide about 0.63 terawatt-hours of renewable energy annually from new wind and solar projects, helping the company increase its usage of low-carbon energy, which currently represents roughly 50% of its total global electricity consumption, Linde said.Shares of the industrial gas and engineering company closed 0.5% higher in Frankfurt.