Europe: Stoxx 600 closes lower; investors assess Pernod Ricard, Nvidia earnings

EUROPE’S Stoxx 600 closed lower on Thursday, dragged down by healthcare stocks, while investors assessed earnings from Pernod Ricard and AI chip leader Nvidia.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended 0.2 per cent lower at 553.67, reversing gains from earlier in the session. Regional bourses were mixed.

“What we’re seeing is just some concerns on the earnings front. We had some ripple effects from Nvidia earnings overnight that’s kind of playing into equities,” said Laura Cooper, head of macro credit and investment strategist at Nuveen.

European semiconductor stocks were mixed as investors parsed Nvidia’s data center outlook, which fell short of some analysts’ expectations.

ASML edged down, BESI was flat, while Infineon and ASM International rose 1.2 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.

Nvidia, the AI market bellwether, also excluded potential China sales from the forecast due to policy uncertainty.

Pernod Ricard firmed 1.4 per cent after the spirits group reported a lower than expected drop in annual sales and profit and forecast improving trends from the second half of its 2026 fiscal year. Shares of peer Remy Cointreau rose 1 per cent, while heavyweight LVMH added 2.2 per cent.

The stocks helped France’s benchmark CAC 40 index advance 0.2 per centr, recovering some ground after falling earlier this week on concerns over a potential collapse of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou’s government next month.

Political turmoil in France and concerns over the US Federal Reserve’s independence after President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire a Fed governor have weighed on European stocks this week.

Meanwhile, the European Commission proposed removing tariffs on imported US industrial goods, part of a trade agreement with the US that should result in retroactive cuts to US tariffs on European cars.

Data showed new car sales in Europe rose 5.9 per cent in July, the best month for more than a year in a boost for the struggling industry.

European automobiles stocks were up 0.6 per cent.

Miners advanced 0.7 per cent, tracking higher copper prices.

Conversely, healthcare stocks fell 0.8 per cent, with Sanofi dropping 1.4 per cent.

Orsted rose 5.6 per cent, to top the Stoxx 600, after Berenberg raised the Danish wind power group to “buy” from “hold”, expecting its rights issue to improve its balance sheet.

Delivery Hero fell 5.9 per cent. The company lowered its guidance for full-year adjusted earnings late on Wednesday.

European Central Bank policymakers were divided on whether inflation was more likely to come in higher or lower than expected when they met in July, ECB accounts showed, in a foretaste of a debate set to come to a head in the coming months. REUTERS