FX.co ★ European Stocks Cut Most Gains

On Wednesday, European stocks relinquished most of their initial upticks, with the STOXX 50 marginally advancing by 0.2% and the STOXX 600 remaining essentially unchanged by the afternoon. The overall sentiment was dampened primarily by a slump in pharmaceutical stocks. The sector faced mounting pressure in light of President Trump's threat to enforce a substantial 250% tariff on pharmaceutical imports, coupled with unsatisfactory corporate earnings reports. In particular, shares of Novo Nordisk declined by 3% due to operating profits failing to meet expectations. Similarly, Novartis decreased by 2.6%, AstraZeneca by 0.7%, and Roche by 1.8%, while Bayer plummeted by 5.2% as its financial results did not meet investor expectations. Meanwhile, Siemens Energy saw its morning gains diminish, eventually dropping by 4.6% despite achieving a record high in quarterly order intake. Likewise, Zalando reversed course to fall 8%. Glencore experienced a 4.1% decline following a report of a 14% drop in first-half profits, and Commerzbank edged down by 0.2% after a profit decrease. Conversely, BPM rose by 2.1% after surpassing net profit projections.