financetom
World
financetom
/
World
/
European Stocks Mixed in Thursday Trading; Investor Concerns Over Middle East War Soften After Opening Sharply Lower
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
European Stocks Mixed in Thursday Trading; Investor Concerns Over Middle East War Soften After Opening Sharply Lower
Apr 2, 2026 9:09 AM

11:54 AM EDT, 04/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets were mixed Thursday, rebounding from a sharp decline in earlier trading after US President Donald Trump said the US would hit Iran "extremely hard" in an address Wednesday night.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was off 0.3%, Germany's DAX fell 0.8%, the FTSE 100 rose 0.6%, France's CAC was down 0.4% and the Swiss Market Index was off 0.1%.

Energy stocks were rallying on soaring oil prices, while bank stocks were tumbling in Thursday trading.

Oil and gas companies BP and Shell were up close to 3% each in London, while TotalEnergies was 2.6% higher in Paris, and Eni was gaining 3.8% in Milan.

Meanwhile, lender Standard Chartered was down 1.6% in London, followed by HSBC and NatWest Group, which were moving 1.3% lower each. In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank were falling 2.6% and 2.5%, respectively. Societe Generale and BNP Paribas dropped 2.9% and 2.8%, respectively, in Paris, followed by Credit Agricole, which was off 1.5%, while Banco Santander was losing 2% in Madrid.

And in corporate news, Novo Nordisk said Thursday that its 25 mg Wegovy pill demonstrated "significantly greater" mean weight loss than Eli Lilly's 36 mg orforglipron, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration under the brand name Foundayo.

The FDA approved Foundayo at doses ranging up to 17.2 mg, which is equivalent to the orforglipron 36 mg capsules used in phase 3 trials, Novo Nordisk said.

Additionally, in a separate study, adult patients who were overweight or obese showed greater preference for an oral semaglutide-like profile than an orforglipron-like profile, Novo said.

Eli Lilly didn't immediately reply to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical company gained 2.6% in Copenhagen.

BP said Thursday that it named Carol Howle as deputy chief executive officer, effective immediately.

The company said Howle will be in charge of BP's ongoing portfolio review and strategy development beyond 2027 targets. Howle will also remain as lead of the company's supply, trading, and shipping division, BP added.

Shares of the British oil and gas company were up 3% in London.

Lloyds Banking Group said it does not plan to change provisions for motor finance mis-selling compensation after assessing the final rules issued by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The bank said its review found no need to adjust its existing provision, adding that uncertainties remain around response rates, operational costs, and potential litigation. The Financial Conduct Authority estimates lenders will pay 7.5 billion pounds in compensation, plus around 1.6 billion pounds in administrative costs, bringing the total program to 9.1 billion pounds, down from a prior estimate of 11 billion pounds, according to reports.

Shares of the British bank were little changed in London.

AstraZeneca said Thursday a combination therapy featuring its medications Imfinzi and Imjudo alongside lenvatinib and a transarterial chemoembolisation procedure demonstrated an improvement in the primary endpoint of progression-free survival in patients with a common form of liver cancer.

Interim results from the phase 3 study also highlighted a trend toward better overall survival rates when compared with transarterial chemoembolisation by itself, the company said.

Shares of the British pharmaceutical company rose 1.8% in London.

TotalEnergies said Thursday it agreed to establish a $2.2 billion joint venture with United Arab Emirates-based energy company Masdar to combine their onshore renewable energy activities in nine countries across Asia.

The JV will have a portfolio capacity of 3 gigawatts of operational assets, as well as 6 gigawatts of assets that are expected to be running by 2030. It will be based in Abu Dhabi Global Market, with a workforce of around 200 employees each from TotalEnergies and Masdar, the oil and gas company said.

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
FOREX-Dollar dips while jawboning supports yen
FOREX-Dollar dips while jawboning supports yen
Apr 2, 2024
(Updates at 1905 GMT) By Hannah Lang NEW YORK, April 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar was down on Tuesday after earlier hitting its highest in almost five months, following a new report that showed U.S. job openings held steady at higher levels in February. The Japanese yen was last up at 151.605 per dollar, after earlier dipping to 151.79....
CANADA STOCKS-TSX pulls back from record high on rate cut uncertainty
CANADA STOCKS-TSX pulls back from record high on rate cut uncertainty
Apr 2, 2024
* TSX ends down 0.5% at 22,075.10 * Communication, real estate stocks decline * Energy rises 1.2%; oil settles 1.7% higher * Metal miners gain as gold posts new record high (Updates at market close) By Purvi Agarwal and Fergal Smith April 2 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index ended lower on Tuesday, giving back some recent gains, as increased...
EMERGING MARKETS-Robust copper prices lift Chile's peso; Brazil's currency flat after intervention
EMERGING MARKETS-Robust copper prices lift Chile's peso; Brazil's currency flat after intervention
Apr 2, 2024
* Chile cenbank to cut interest rate by 75bps in April - poll * Producer prices in Brazil rise 0.06% in February * Markets in Argentina closed for Veteran's Day * Latam FX up 0.2%, stocks add 0.6% (Updated at 3:45 p.m. EDT/1945 GMT) By Bansari Mayur Kamdar April 2 (Reuters) - The Chilean peso rose on Tuesday, boosted by...
CANADA FX DEBT-C$ steadies as bond yields, commodity prices climb
CANADA FX DEBT-C$ steadies as bond yields, commodity prices climb
Apr 2, 2024
* Loonie trades in a range of 1.3557 to 1.3584 * Price of U.S. oil settles 1.7% higher * Ten-year yield touches its highest level since Feb. 13 By Fergal Smith TORONTO, April 2 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as higher commodity prices offset increased investor nervousness about the timing of...
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved