European Shares Extend Gains On Trade Deal Optimism

(RTTNews) - European stocks rose for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday as optimism prevailed about a potential trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union. EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said there was good progress on a framework trade agreement and a deal may even be possible within days.

Meanwhile, German inflation eased to the lowest in eight months in June, as initially estimated, due to continued decline in energy prices and slowdown in food inflation, final data from Destatis showed today.

Consumer price inflation slowed to 2.0 percent in June, in line with flash estimate, from 2.1 percent in May. A similar lower rate was last reported in October 2024.

The pan-European STOXX Europe 600 rose half a percent to 552.88 after climbing 0.8 percent on Wednesday.

The German DAX edged up by 0.1 percent, France's CAC 40 climbed 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rallied 1.1 percent.

In corporate news, Nordex SE rallied 2.5 percent after the wind turbine manufacturer announced strong order intake of 2.3 GW in the second quarter of 2025.

DCC, a sales, marketing, and support services provider, rose over 1 percent after delivering Q1 operating profit growth in line with expectations.

Jupiter Fund Management jumped 12 percent after it agreed to acquire CCLA, a U.K. asset manager covering non-profit organizations.

PageGroup climbed 2.4 percent as the recruiter forecast annual profit in line with market view.

Global advertising and communications company WPP advanced 3.3 percent after appointing Microsoft's Cindy Rose as its new CEO.

ASM International and ASML Holding both rose around 1 percent after TSMC, the chipmaker for Nvidia and Apple, reported strong Q2 sales.

Barry Callebaut AG shares slumped 13 percent. The chocolate maker cut its sales volume guidance for a second time within three months due to persistent cocoa bean price volatility.