Europe in decline. ASML loses more than 6%

Major European indices are trading lower for the third straight session as the start of the second-quarter earnings season was not enough to bring optimism to investors. What hurts Wednesday’s session are rising tensions between the United States and China over trade tariffs on semiconductors.

The European Stoxx 600 index lost 0.54% to 514.52 points, with the technology sector recording the largest decline of 2.31%, followed by the retail sector, which lost more than 1%.

Among the major market moves was the Dutch ASML index, which fell 6.41%, after Bloomberg reported that the Biden administration is evaluating new measures to restrict technology exports to China.

Daimler Truck continues to lose 2.54% after reporting lower-than-expected second-quarter results. The company also announced a writedown on a joint venture in China and put guidance for the rest of the year under review.

On the positive side, Adidas shares jumped more than 5% to their highest intraday level since February 2022, after the company reported better-than-expected accounts and revised upward estimates for sales growth and operating profit.

Major European indices lagged behind North American stock markets, which hit consecutive all-time highs.

“With the rate-cutting cycle set to begin in the second half and growing expectations of a contractionary political scenario in the US under a potential Trump administration, we believe investors could look at mixed Q2 results and play into a soft landing narrative.” [da política monetária na economia]“,” Barclays analysts said in a note seen by Bloomberg.

Among the major indices in Western Europe, the German DAX fell 0.29%, the French CAC 40 fell 0.4%, the Italian FTSEMIB fell 0.28%, the British FTSE 100 fell 0.36% and the Spanish IBEX 35 fell 0.62%. In Amsterdam, the AEX fell 1.16%.