Stock indices in major Western European countries are rising today as investors assess signals of negotiations between the European Union and the United States on a trade agreement.
US President Donald Trump plans to inform the EU within the next two days what tariffs will be imposed on European goods exported to the US. At the same time, the president noted that the EU had “behaved well” in the trade negotiations.
Trump also announced plans to impose a 50% tariff on copper imports and said that tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals would be introduced in the near future. Earlier, the Financial Times reported that the EU was close to concluding a trade deal with the US.
Tariffs on the EU goods will be higher than on imports from the UK. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.37% to 547.73 points. The British FTSE 100 index added 0.06%, the German DAX – 0.69%, the French CAC 40 – 0.77%, the Italian FTSE MIB – 1.09%, and the Spanish IBEX 35 – 0.58%.
The growth leader in the combined European index is EssilorLuxottica, whose shares rose 5.5% on news that Meta acquired about 3% of the eyewear manufacturer’s shares. Meanwhile, WPP shares showed the sharpest decline, falling by almost 17%. The advertising agency has again lowered its forecasts for the current year: the company now expects a 3-5% decline in comparable revenue.
The market capitalisation of Europe’s leading energy companies is growing, including BP Plc (up 0.8%), Shell (up 0.9%) and TotalEnergies (up 1.3%).The market value of UniCredit is up 2.8%, Commerzbank is up 0.8%. The Italian bank has increased its stake in its German competitor to 20% after converting derivatives into shares, becoming its largest shareholder.
UniCredit has already received approval from all necessary regulators to further increase its stake in Commerzbank to approximately 29%. Renault shares are down 0.1%. The French carmaker has narrowed its shortlist of candidates for the role of CEO to three people. They are Dacia CEO Denis Le Vot, Renault’s head of procurement, partnerships and public relations François Provost, and former Stellantis top manager Maxime Picat. Current Renault CEO Luca de Meo unexpectedly announced his departure to the company’s board of directors in mid-June. He will leave his post on July 15.
In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank and Siemens AG shares are up more than 2%, while Porsche’s market capitalisation is down 2.5%. In Paris, Societe Generale shares are up nearly 3%, while Publicis Groupe’s market capitalisation is down 2.1%.
