European shares hover near record highs as earnings offset Mideast uncertainty

European shares were muted on Wednesday, with the STOXX 600 index up 0.07%, as investors assessed corporate earnings and weighed mixed signals from the Middle East.

European shares were muted on Wednesday as investors assessed a fresh batch of corporate earnings while keeping an eye on fast-moving developments in ‌the Middle East.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.07% at 657.27 by 0857 GMT, briefly hitting an intraday record high after closing at an all-time peak in the previous session. Most major regional benchmarks were also little changed.

Markets were weighing mixed signals ‌from the Middle East after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group launched a missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker in the ‌Red Sea. Brent crude futures rose 1.2% after the incident and were last trading at $80.39. The development came after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration had held "very good discussions" with Iran during day-long negotiations.

"By and large, they (markets) are just discounting political narratives, geopolitical narratives," said Kathleen Brooks, research ⁠director at ​XTB. "Corporate fundamentals are the key ⁠theme that is driving stocks right now." Energy stocks rose 0.6%, tracking higher oil prices.

Siemens Energy was up 1.3% after the energy provider posted record third-quarter ⁠results, buoyed by rising AI data centre demand and power plant projects in the Middle East. Mining stocks led sectoral gains, rising 1.4% as gold ​prices climbed to a one-month high on a weaker dollar.

Glencore rose 3.3% after beating forecasts with an 86% jump ⁠in first-half earnings. Banks, however, fell 0.9%, with HSBC down 3.5% following its results a day earlier.

Novo Nordisk slid 3.8% despite lifting its full-year sales and ⁠profit ​outlook. Investors instead focused on a narrow sales miss for its new Wegovy pill and a trial setback for its next-generation obesity drug, CagriSema. The Danish drugmaker is seeking to regain ground from Eli Lilly in the fast-growing obesity-drug market. Once Europe's ⁠most valuable listed company in 2024, Novo has lost a substantial share of its market value as expectations for obesity-drug growth ⁠have cooled and competition has ⁠intensified.

In contrast, Sandoz rose 7.4%, topping the benchmark index after the Swiss generic drugmaker reported a 9% jump in second-quarter net sales, driven by strong growth in biosimilars as patents expire ‌for popular medicines.