European stocks hit record high as focus shifts to Greenland talks; BP warns of $5 billion impairment charge

LONDON — European stocks opened in broadly positive territory on Wednesday as investors in the region focus on an upcoming meeting between U.S., Greenlandic and Danish officials to discuss the Arctic island’s future.

Shortly after the opening bell, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.3% higher, reaching a record high, with most sectors and major regional bourses moving upward.

All eyes will be on a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Greenlandic and Danish officials on Wednesday, with talks set to focus on President Donald Trump’s repeated advances toward “acquiring” the semi-autonomous Danish territory.

Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly said the Arctic island is not for sale, but Trump has mooted the possibility of using military force to seize the mineral-rich island.

In corporate news, oil giant BP warned on Wednesday that it expects to take impairment charges of between $4 billion and $5 billion for the fourth quarter of 2025. The company said those charges were related to its gas and low carbon energy units, and would be excluded from underlying replacement cost profit. It also warned that it expects its oil trading result to be weaker in the period, compared to the third quarter.

BP’s London-listed shares were last seen trading 0.8% lower.

Meanwhile, shares of mining giant Fresnillo — the world’s leading silver producer — touched on a record high shortly after the open, but pared its early gains to trade 0.6% higher by 8:30 a.m. in London (3:30 a.m. ET). It came after spot silver rose above $90 an ounce for the first time.

Elsewhere, European ammunition maker Czechoslovak Group said Wednesday morning that it plans to list in Amsterdam in the coming weeks, at a potential valuation of around 30 billion euros ($34.94 billion). The company expects to benefit from a regional defense spending super cycle amid rising geopolitical uncertainty. Early commitments from funds including Artisan Partners, BlackRock and Al-Rayyan already total 900 million euros, as firms race to gain exposure to what could become one of Europe’s most valuable defense businesses.

Defense stocks fell after initially inching higher on Wednesday, with the regional Stoxx Europe Aerospace and Defense index shedding 0.1% in early trade amid rising tensions related to Greenland, widespread and violent protests in Iran — and the promise of intervention from the U.S. if protesters are executed — and the fallout from Washington’s ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last week.

Overnight, Japanese indexes hit record highs on expectations that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi could call for a snap election, likely in February. Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday night after the S&P 500 pulled back from record levels seen earlier in the week.

There are no major earnings or data releases in Europe on Wednesday.

— CNBC’s Michael Considine and Olivia Levieux contributed to this article.