Europe: Stocks close up; Novo Nordisk logs its biggest daily drop on record

EUROPEAN stocks closed higher on Tuesday, buoyed by financials and defence stocks, though Danish stocks logged their biggest one-day drop of the year as Novo Nordisk’s shares slid after the weight-loss drug maker issued a profit warning.

The Wegovy producer, once a market darling, logged its biggest one-day drop on record of 23 per cent, wiping about US$57.5 billion off its market value, as it slashed its outlook for 2025 sales growth and named a new CEO as it battles rising competition in the obesity drug market.

The stock weighed on Denmark’s Copenhagen OMX index, which lost 11.9 per cent, while the broader STOXX pharmaceutical sector slid 1.6 per cent.

“It’s doubly disappointing for investors when you find a company that had been anticipated to be a real star in a booming sector, and they don’t seem to be able to capitalise on what was a really good competitive position,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

The stock “seems to be getting pummeled” by its US rival, Eli Lilly, Hewson said. “Now we are seeing a change in CEO, but investors are not going to give the new guy an awful lot of time to get the house in order.”

Eli Lilly also lost 5 per cent in afternoon trading.

More broadly the pan-European Stoxx 600 index finished 0.29 per cent higher at 550.36, with banks gaining 1.7 per cent to hit their highest since September 2008 as investors bet on improved profits and resilience in a sector broadly insulated from tariff turmoil.

In a relief for investors, the US and EU signed an agreement to lower US tariffs to 15 per cent, ending weeks of negotiations earlier this week and offering investors some clarity on the trade front.

Analysts said the corporate earnings landscape has markedly improved following the deal, and they now project European companies to deliver 1.8 per cent growth in second-quarter earnings compared to a 0.3 per cent decline just a week earlier, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data.

Aerospace and defence stocks added 2.2 per cent after three straight days of losses. The new framework trade deal offered zero-for-zero tariffs on aircraft and parts. Airbus and Safran SA gained 1.7 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.

Franco-Italian eyewear group EssilorLuxottica shares jumped 6.9 per cent after the company reported an increase in first-half operating profit despite a tariff hit.

Dutch company Philips rose 9.2 per cent to the top of the index after the healthcare technology group lowered its tariff impact estimates following the US-EU trade deal.

Attention now turns to Wednesday’s second-quarter GDP releases from both the euro zone and the US, followed by the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated rate decision and Friday’s US employment report. REUTERS