European shares log second weekly gain, focus on Trump-Putin talks

[Bengaluru] European shares came off multi-month highs on Friday (Aug 15), as declines in heavyweight tech and financial shares offset gains from some corporate earnings, while investors monitored a crucial US-Russia summit.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.1 per cent lower, after hitting a near five-month high earlier in the session.

Investor focus was on a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska later in the day that investors hope could pave the way for a resolution of the Ukraine conflict.

Trump said he would not negotiate on behalf of Ukraine and would let Kyiv decide whether to engage in territorial swops with Russia.

Analysts at Jefferies said that any progress towards de-escalation could benefit consumer, construction, materials and growth-oriented sectors, which have been relatively underinvested in Europe.

Aerospace and defence stocks fell 0.8 per cent ahead of the summit.

Steve Sosnick, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers, said: “Barring something truly outrageous – positive or negative – markets are not necessarily treating it (US-Russia summit) as important from a market point of view.”

Technology stocks fell 0.6 per cent, weighing on the Stoxx 600 index.

ASML, the world’s biggest supplier of computer chip-making equipment, fell 1 per cent after US peer Applied Materials lowered its fourth-quarter earnings forecast due to weak demand in China and impacts from tariff uncertainty.

The Dutch firm had issued a similar warning in mid-July, saying it might not achieve its 2026 growth forecast. Chip stocks BE Semiconductor and ASMI dropped 3.3 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively.

On the other hand, miners were the top gainers, adding 0.8 per cent. Antofagasta rose 1.2 per cent after a jump in half-year core earnings on Thursday, helping peers, including Anglo American.

Healthcare shares, which have taken a beating this year from uncertainty around Trump’s pharma tariffs, were on track for a recovery.

The healthcare index logged its seventh consecutive session of gains, its longest streak since late January.

Regional bourses were mixed, with Germany’s DAX and the UK’s FTSE declining, while France’s CAC and Spain’s IBEX posted gains.

The Stoxx 600 also logged a second weekly gain, driven by expectations of a US rate cut in September and strong corporate earnings.

Pandora bottomed the Stoxx 600, falling 18.4 per cent, after the Danish jewellery maker flagged weakening sales in its key European markets.

This was its steepest one-day fall in seven years.

Standard Chartered fell 7.2 per cent after a US Republican lawmaker called for probe against the bank over alleged “ongoing sanctions evasion”.

NKT jumped 8.6 per cent to top the Stoxx 600, logging its best day since May 2022, after the Danish power cable solutions provider raised its outlook for 2025. REUTERS