General view of Amsterdam’s city center.
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LONDON — European stocks were lower on Thursday as regional investors await more corporate earnings, the latest growth data and a European Central Bank rate decision.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.1% lower at 8:55 a.m. in London (4:55 a.m. ET).
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index was 0.5% lower, France’s CAC 40 was just below the flatline and Italy’s FTSE MIB traded around 0.4% lower. Germany’s DAX bucked the trend, up 0.3%.
It’s another busy day for earnings on Thursday with third-quarter results coming from TotalEnergies, Volkswagen, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, Anheuser-Busch InBev, BBVA and Schneider Electric.
Shell shares dipped almost 0.6% after the firm reported a significant drop in third-quarter profit but beat analyst expectations, citing a strong operational performance. It posted adjusted earnings of $5.4 billion for the quarter, and announced another $3.5 billion in share buybacks over the next three months, maintaining the pace of its shareholder returns.
Aerospace and defense company Airbus, meanwhile, reported a strong third quarter late on Wednesday amid Europe’s rush to build out its defense capabilities. Its results came in above analyst estimates, with revenue jumping 14% to 17.8 billion euros ($23.5 billion) and operating profit up 42% at 1.75 billion euros. The figures were driven by an increase in commercial aircraft deliveries, currency hedging and its helicopter services, the company said. Its stock price advanced 3% in early dealmaking.
Dutch lender ING Groep gained almost 4.2% on Thursday morning after posting net profits of 1.79 billion euros in the third quarter, above analysts’ expected 1.66 billion euros. Standard Chartered, meanwhile, advanced almost 2%, after its third-quarter earnings report showed pre-tax profits of $1.8 billion, beating the $1.5 billion forecast by analysts.
Data releases include flash euro zone third quarter GDP (due at 10am London time) and unemployment figures, as well as inflation data from Spain and Germany.
The European Central Bank is also due to announce its latest interest rate decision on Thursday, although economists have branded it a “non event” given the bank is highly likely to keep its key interest rate, the deposit facility rate, steady at 2%.
Trump, Xi and the Fed
Global markets were also assessing the in-person meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Asia on Thursday.
Trump said he had reached a one-year agreement with Xi on rare earths and other critical minerals, and that Washington will cut fentanyl-related tariffs on Beijing to 10% after their meeting in South Korea.
BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA – OCTOBER 30: U.S. President Donald Trump greets Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of a bilateral meeting at Gimhae Air Base on October 30, 2025 in Busan, South Korea.
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Chinese and Hong Kong markets fell overnight, reversing earlier gains, after the meeting concluded, while other Asia-Pacific markets were mixed.
Investors were also digesting comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He indicated, at the end of the Fed’s two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, that a rate cut in December was far from a “foregone conclusion.”
The Fed cut the benchmark federal funds rate by 25 basis points, as expected, to bring it to 3.75%-4%
U.S. stock futures moved lower on Wednesday night as investors digested Powell’s comments and a batch of Big Tech earnings from Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft.
– CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report.
