International
Persian Gulf Outlook, Earnings Season Churn European Bourses Midday
European bourses tracked modestly lower midday Wednesday as traders weighed Persian Gulf turmoil, the unfolding earnings season and higher global crude prices.Oil stocks led gains on continental trading floors, while bank and property shares lagged. Tech equities were steady.Bucking trends, the resource-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.3% at midday, striking an all-time high. Shares of oil giant Shell were up 1.6%, while BP gained 2.5%.Investors also eyed Wall Street futures in the green, but lower closes overnight on Asian exchanges on semiconductor- and AI-sector retreats.Front-month North Sea Brent crude-oil futures were up 4.5% to $85.77 a barrel in midday trades.Standard Chartered shares traded up 2.4% mid-session in London after the financial house reported strong Q2 financials, announcing a dividend boost and a $1 billion share buyback program.In economic news, higher oil prices, and thus higher inflation, may compel the European Central Bank (ECB) to raise interest rates, ECB Governing Council member Christodoulos Patsalides told Econostream Media.The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was off 0.2% mid-session.The Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index was flat, and the Stoxx 600 Banks Index lost 0.7%.The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index rose 1.8%, while the Stoxx 600 Europe Food and Beverage Index declined 1.1%.The REITE, a European REIT index, fell 0.7%.On the national market indexes, Germany's DAX was up 0.1%, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.5%, and Spain's IBEX 35 eased 1.4%.The yield on benchmark 10-year German bonds was higher, near 3.14%.The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index was up 2.1% at 18.30, indicating below-average volatility for European stock markets in the next 30 days, a positive signal. A reading above 20 indicates choppier markets ahead, while below 20 suggests calmer exchanges.
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