European stocks edged higher Thursday, boosted by strength in the energy sector on a very busy day for quarterly corporate earnings.
At 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany climbed 0.1%, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.4%.
Trump sanctions Russia’s oil giants U.S. President Donald Trump has announced sanctions on Russia’s largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, with his administration citing Moscow’s “lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added the companies funded “the Kremlin’s war machine,” and that the Treasury was prepared to take more action against Moscow.
This marks a pivot in Trump’s stance on Russia, having chosen so far not to impose any direct sanctions on the country in his second term.
The sanctions now stand to block a chunk of global oil supplies, and have helped ease concerns over a looming supply glut. This resulted in sharp gains in the benchmark oil contracts, and share price gains for Europe’s heavily-weighted energy giants.
Brent futures gained 3.1% to $64.54 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 3.3% to $60.43 a barrel.
U.S.-China relations remain fraught That said, gains are limited as investors fret about the fragile state of U.S.-China relations, amid fears of a potentially damaging trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads. Trump’s administration is considering a plan to restrict a broad array of software-powered exports to China, including laptops, jet engines, and other high-tech products, in response to Beijing’s latest rare earth export restrictions, Reuters reported.
The U.S. president and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet in South Korea next week, and while Trump has expressed optimism about the talks, he also acknowledged that a meeting may not take place.
Unilever receives beauty boost It’s also a busy day for earnings in Europe, with investors studying a deluge of results from the corporate sector.
Unilever’s (LON:ULVR) third-quarter underlying sales growth topped market expectations, driven by strength in the U.K.-listed consumer goods company’s beauty products across North America and emerging markets.
Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) said its third quarter profit fell 36% and it downgraded its performance guidance for the year, hurt by a previously announced £800 million charge to compensate customers for the motor-finance mis-selling scandal.
Finnish telecom company Nokia (HE:NOKIA) reported third-quarter profit well ahead of expectations, helped by strong optical and cloud demand, including sales to AI-driven data centers after its Infinera acquisition.
French defence and aerospace group Thales (EPA:TCFP) reported a 9% rise in sales for the first nine months of 2025, driven by strong momentum in its aerospace and defence segments, and reaffirmed all its full-year financial targets.
French caterer Sodexo (EPA:EXHO) forecast slower revenue growth in 2026 than in 2025, citing challenges in its U.S. business, which generates roughly half of its revenue.
