European Shares Mixed In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - European stocks were mixed on Thursday as investors weighed renewed tensions in the U.S.-China trade dispute over rare earth controls against growing expectations of imminent U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.2 percent at 568.72 after gaining 0.6 percent on Wednesday.

The German DAX slipped 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 eased 0.2 percent.

France's CAC 40 was little changed after surging 2 percent in the previous session, driven by a powerful rally in luxury names.

Dragerwerk shares jumped more than 10 percent. The German medical and safety technology manufacturer gave a more optimistic outlook for the full year following growth in the past quarter.

Laboratory and pharmaceutical supplier Sartorius soared 11 percent after raising its full-year guidance.

Pernod Ricard rallied 2 percent. After a tough first quarter, the French spirits maker said it expects sales to improve in fiscal year 2026.

Nestle climbed 7.5 percent. To reduce costs and boost sales, the Swiss food and beverage giant has unveiled plans to cut 16000 jobs globally over two years.

U.K.-based hospitality group Whitbread slumped 7.8 percent after reporting a 7 percent drop in half-year profit.

ASML Holding NV rose about 1 percent and ASM International gained half a percent after TSMC clocked a record third-quarter profit on AI spending boom.