UK, India to sign trade agreement
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 18: UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (L) during a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi as he attends the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art on November 18, 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Keir Starmer is attending his first G20 Summit since he was elected Prime Minister of the UK. He is expected to hold talks with President Xi Jinping of China, the first time a UK PM has done so for six years. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
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The U.K. is set to sign its trade agreement with India today, as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the country.
U.K. officials say the deal will add almost £5 billion ($6.8 billion) to the British economy.
Under the agreement, India’s average charge on U.K. goods will fall from 15% to 3%, while Indian manufacturers will get greater access to the U.K. market.
— Jordan Butt
Nestle’s first-half sales beat expectations as price hikes continue
A KitKat chocolate bar, manufactured by Nestle SA, arranged in London, U.K., on Monday, July 26, 2021.
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Nestle on Thursday posted better-than-expected first-half organic sales growth as it leaned on price hikes to offset higher input costs for its coffee and cocoa-related products.
Revenues at the Nescafe and KitKat maker were up 2.9% over the six-month period, led by price rises of 2.7%, slightly ahead of the 2.5% forecast by analysts in a company compiled consensus.
Nestle shares
The world’s largest packaged food company said real internal growth of 0.2% reflected “lower consumer demand and the short-term impact of consumers and customers adjusting to price increases.”
The Swiss company continued to flag “increased macroeconomic risks and uncertainties” ahead, but nevertheless maintained its 2025 guidance for organic sales growth to improve versus 2024 and for an underlying trading operating profit margin of 16% or above.
— Karen Gilchrist
Here are the opening calls
The Millennium Bridge in London, on July 4, 2025.
Jonathan Brady – Pa Images | Pa Images | Getty Images
Good morning from London, and welcome to CNBC’s live blog covering all the action and business news in European financial markets on Thursday.
Futures data from IG suggest a positive open for European indexes as hopes of a U.S.-EU trade deal rise, with London’s FTSE 100 seen opening 0.4% higher, France’s CAC 40 up 1.3%, Germany’s DAX up 1.1%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB 1.24% higher.
European markets rose Wednesday amid hopes that the U.S. and European Union could be closing in on a trade deal. Regional stocks jumped yesterday after the Financial Times reported that the two large trading partners were closing in on a 15% tariff deal.
Optimism that a deal was close rose after President Donald Trump announced that he had completed a “massive Deal” with Japan, and hinted that Europe could be next.
“We have Europe coming in tomorrow, and the next day, we have some other ones coming in,” Trump said late on Tuesday, without specifying details.
— Holly Ellyatt
ECB decision and a raft of earnings ahead
Flags for the European Union members stand during a ceremony to lay a cornerstone for the new European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.
Hannelore Foerster | Bloomberg | Getty Images
It’s a busy day for central banks and corporates on Thursday.
The European Central Bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged as it gauges the trade tariff landscape.
On the earnings front, reports are set to come from BNP, Roche, Nokia, Nestle, Lloyds Banking Group, BT Group, Reckitt Benckiser Group, ITV, Wizz Air, TotalEnergies, Vodafone, Centrica, Michelin, Dassault Systemes, ST Micro, Carrefour, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Boerse, LVMH and more.
On the data front, flash European purchasing managers’ index data and Germany’s GfK consumer confidence figures are due.
— Holly Ellyatt