A trader works at a desk on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 19, 2026 in New York.
Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON — European stock markets edged higher on Thursday, reversing earlier losses, as investors assessed the latest geopolitical news and oil prices fell.
pan-european Stocks 600 It was up almost 0.2% by 10 a.m. ET in London. The main exchanges in Frankfurt, Paris and Milan all rose. british FTSE100 However, while most of the local sectors were in the black, deficits continued.
eutelsatThe Paris-based global satellite communications company soared 12.8%, extending its gain this week to 22%. The rise in shares in Eutelsat, often cited as Europe’s challenger to SpaceX, comes ahead of the Elon Musk-backed rocket maker’s landmark IPO.
However, there is a big difference in the scale of the two companies. An IPO early next month could give SpaceX a record $1.75 trillion valuation, while Eutelsat’s market capitalization is just 4.05 billion euros ($4.7 billion).
German satellite manufacturer OHB Luxembourg also recorded double-digit growth. SES It has increased by 3.5%.
In other places, easyjet It rose 0.9% after the low-cost carrier revealed that the Middle East conflict was causing bookings to be delayed and costs to rise. The London-listed airline reported a pre-tax loss of 552 million pounds ($741 million) for the six months to March 31, up from 394 million pounds a year earlier.
Creator of Assassin’s Creed Ubisoft The company plunged about 15% in mid-morning trading after France’s leading video game maker revealed it had posted an operating loss of 1.3 billion euros for the 2026 fiscal year.
BT Group Shares fell about 2.7% after the London-listed flagship telecommunications company announced its full-year results. The group’s adjusted revenue fell 4% to £19.6bn, mainly due to lower international revenue. For the full year to March 31, pre-tax profits rose 8% on the previous year to £1.4bn.
Italian insurance company shares Generali The increase was 2.2%, after first-quarter operating profit rose 8.1% year-on-year to 2.2 billion euros.
European stock exchanges appear unfazed by market-wide optimism that the Middle East conflict could end quickly.
Positive sentiment was evident in the Asia-Pacific trading session after US President Donald Trump said the US was in the “final stages” of negotiations with Iran, according to a pool report.
West Texas Intermediate futures were last trading at $99.24 per barrel, up 1.1% on the day. Brent futures, the international benchmark, rose 0.8% in morning trading to $105.85 a barrel.
President Trump said earlier this week that he was halting new military strikes against Iran to give time for diplomacy at the request of Gulf Arab allies.
Meanwhile, preliminary PMI reports for the UK and France suggested weaker economic activity in May.
The UK’s preliminary PMI contracted on the composite index, coming in at 48.5 compared to analysts’ expectations of 51.6. The UK flash manufacturing PMI was 53.7, above expectations of 53.0, but the services PMI was 47.9, below analysts’ expectations of 51.7. France’s preliminary PMI composite index fell to 43.5 in May from 47.6 in April, and business activity also fell to a 66-month low. This was the first significant decline in five and a half years.
— CNBC’s Justina Lee and Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.
