LONDON — European stock markets opened higher on Thursday, led by AI chip stocks, which soared after TSMC’s record profits.
pan-european Stocks 600 The stock rose 0.28% in the first hour of the session.
Dutch semiconductor manufacturing equipment manufacturer ASML Shares soar 7% on early deals as investors react to Taiwan’s better-than-expected earnings TSMC. Last time it rose 5%.
TSMC reported a 35% increase in fourth-quarter profit, beating expectations and setting a new record as demand for artificial intelligence chips remained strong.
ASM International The last seen was 9.57%; BE Semiconductor Increased by 5.63%.
UniCredit rose 1.1% in early trade on Thursday after Bank of Italy said recent reports that it was planning to buy a stake in rival financial firm Banco Monte dei Paschi di Siena were “inherently speculative and unfair” and “pure fiction.”
M&A activity among European banks is expected to pick up this year, with Italy seen as a takeover hotspot, with analysts seeing MPS as one of the key targets. “M&A is a strategic tool for banks,” UniCredit said in a statement.
Regional investors will wait to see the outcome of a high-stakes meeting Wednesday between senior officials from the United States, Denmark and Greenland to discuss ownership of the Arctic island.
US President Donald Trump views Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory as important to national security and has threatened to seize it by force if necessary.
A meeting between officials from Greenland, Denmark and the United States at the White House on Wednesday ended in “fundamental disagreements” over ownership of the island, Danish officials said after the meeting, but the two sides said they would continue to talk.
Ahead of the meeting, President Trump doubled down on territorial acquisitions, saying on social media that anything other than Greenland becoming part of the United States was “unacceptable.”
Iran has also been in the spotlight after President Trump threatened to take military action against the Islamic Republic if it executes protesters arrested during violent crackdowns on demonstrations in various parts of the country.
But President Trump appeared to soften his stance Wednesday night, saying he was confident executions had stopped and would “wait and see” about possible military action. Iran reopened its airspace early Thursday after a temporary closure that prohibited most flights.
The source of revenue is Richemont before the bell on Thursday. The luxury goods conglomerate, which owns Cartier and many other brands, reported third-quarter sales of 6.4 billion euros ($7.4 billion), up 4% from a year earlier. Third quarter sales increased 11% at constant currency. We recorded significant growth in most markets, especially the UK and Italy. The company’s stock price has been flat recently.
The data release includes UK GDP for November, which grew by 0.3% in the month, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a very modest growth rate of 0.1%. of lb It fell to $1.3436 with the release of GDP statistics.
ING developed markets economist James Smith told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Thursday that growth in 2026 is likely to slow to 0.9% next year from the 1.4% expected this year.
Ahead of the release of the statistics, he said the increase in government spending would not be repeated at the same level next year. Investment confidence is “very weak” and will remain so for the first few months, Smith added. He added that while ING is not “bright,” he doesn’t want to call it “hopeless and gloomy.”
The main British bond, known as British Bonds, was last edging higher. benchmark 10 years less than 1 basis point higher; 5- and 2 years Both government bonds rose by about 3 basis points.
Inflation statistics for Spain and France and EU trade balance statistics are also scheduled to be released on this day.
In the US, stock futures were little changed Wednesday night.
