European Midday Briefing: Shares Largely Up, Oil Steady After U.S.-Iran Strikes

MARKET WRAPS

Stocks:

European shares were mostly higher Thursday as oil prices eased after early gains.

The U.S. and Iran exchanged fire again, hours after President Trump declared an end to the eight-week ceasefire. President Trump said that Iran called him in search of a deal, though Tehran didn't say anything about new talks.

"The past few days' price action makes one thing clear: markets were far too relaxed

about the risks surrounding the deal - and far too bullish on how quickly regional supply could rebound," ING said.

For the day ahead, investors will watch for the European Central Bank's account of its last meeting, as well as weekly U.S. initial jobless claims data.

Investors were also weighing the Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes which showed policymakers were split over the future course of rates.

"While much of the committee agreed that inflation would cool as energy prices fell

and one-off tariff impacts subsided, there were some worries of persistent underlying price pressures," Deutsche Bank said.

Approaching midday, the Stoxx 600, the DAX and the CAC 40 were up. The FTSE 100 was an outlier, falling 0.5% as AstraZeneca dropped 9% after the company said a drug trial missed its objective.

U.S. Markets:

Stock futures were on the rise following a mixed session after tensions heightened between the U.S. and Iran.

Forex:

The euro rose . Expectations that the ECB could deliver another interest-rate rise in September was supporting the currency, ING said.

The dollar eased

after the Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes showed policymakers were divided over the future path of interest rates. The minutes were more balanced than the "hawkish interpretation" of the June press conference which boosted expectations for rate rises, Jefferies said.

Sterling rose to a one-year high against the euro and a three-week high versus the dollar as renewed U.S.-Iran tensions boosts expectations that the Bank of England could raise interest rates in response to elevated oil prices.

Bonds:

Yields on eurozone government bonds and U.K. government bonds fell , reversing some of their steep rise the previous day as oil prices turned lower.

A renewed energy price shock would likely put further pressure on the short end of the German Bund yield curve, Metzler said. However, it sees the upside potential for two-year German bond yields as limited at current levels.

Treasury yields look to stabilize in early trade after hitting multiweek highs Wednesday, prompted by President Trump's announcement that the ceasefire with Iran was over.

Energy:

Oil prices ticked lower after rising earlier in the session, with Brent crude down 0.2% and WTI futures slipping 0.3%.

Metals:

Gold prices climbed back above $4,100 a troy ounce after Wednesday's selloff, with New York futures up 0.6% to $4,107.90. The rebound was supported by a softer U.S. dollar and renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East after the U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes again on Wednesday.

Iron

Iron ore rose in early trade. The surge in shipments earlier this year is largely subsided due to seasonal easing in July, Nanhua Futures said.

EMEA HEADLINES

AstraZeneca Says Wainua Trial Failed to Meet Primary Goal

AstraZeneca said the trial for its Wainua drug on a rare type of heart disease didn't meet its primary objective, at a time when the company's drug pipeline outside oncology is in focus.

The U.K. drugmaker said Thursday that Wainua was generally well tolerated, with a safety profile consistent with previous results. However, it failed to meet the primary efficacy endpoint compared with placebo when treating transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy.

Prologis Pushes for Talks on $16.9 Billion Segro Bid

Prologis said it remained ready to engage with Segro's board over its proposed 12.6 billion-pound ($16.87 billion) takeover approach.

The owner of industrial real estate said Thursday that talks would enable both companies to explore the full potential of a merger. It urged Segro shareholders to encourage the board to enter into talks.

Hugo Boss Urges Shareholders to Reject Frasers' $2.2 Billion Takeover Bid

Hugo Boss asked its shareholders to reject Frasers Group's $2.2 billion takeover bid, saying it undervalued the German fashion company, which is pursuing its own growth plan.

Last month, Mike Ashley's Frasers said it intended to acquire the 73.42% stake in Hugo Boss that it doesn't already own for around 1.93 billion euros ($2.2 billion), or 38 euros a share.

Porsche Deliveries Fell 16% in First Half

Porsche car deliveries fell 16% in the first half of the year, with sales dented by the end of production of the gasoline-powered 718, strong demand for the all-electric Macan in the same period last year, and the end of U.S. tax incentives for electric and hybrid vehicles.

The German luxury sports-car maker said Thursday that it delivered 122,306 cars in the first six months of the year, down from 146,391 in the first half of 2025.

GLOBAL NEWS

China's Factory-Price Growth Quickens, Consumer Inflation Eases

China's factory-gate inflation accelerated in June as the effects of the Middle East conflict continued to ripple through the economy, but consumer-price gains cooled, suggesting persistent weakness in domestic demand.

The producer-price index jumped 4.1% from a year earlier in June, quickening from a 3.9% increase in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday, in line with economists' projections in a Wall Street Journal survey.

German Exports Rise, Shrugging off Iran War Concerns

Germany's exports increased in May, driven by U.S. trade, as manufacturers proved relatively resilient to uncertainty prompted by the Iran war.

Seasonally adjusted exports from Germany were 0.9% higher than in April, reaching 137.9 billion euros ($157.4 billion), the highest level since September 2022, statistics agency Destatis said Thursday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected a 0.6% decline.

Higher gas prices aren't the only way rising tensions with Iran will hit home

While higher gas prices may be the primary concern of consumers as rising Middle East tensions trigger a surge in oil prices, Wall Street is worried that renewed hostilities could have an even bigger impact elsewhere.

President Donald Trump helped stoke those worries Wednesday by suggesting the U.S.-Iran cease-fire deal had ended. Although Trump softened his stance by later saying he doesn't think a full-scale war will resume, he threatened Iran with military strikes - which were carried out later in the day.

U.S., Iran Exchange Fire After Trump Declares Ceasefire Over

The U.S. and Iran exchanged fire again on Wednesday night after President Trump pronounced the end of an eight-week ceasefire. The U.S. pounded targets that included missile and drone sites near the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran fired on Kuwait and Bahrain, which host U.S. military bases, according to a senior U.S. official.

The U.S. struck 90 military targets to "further degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz," U.S. Central Command said in a statement that noted the end of the latest strikes.

Ukraine's Six-Part Strategy to Survive the Global Run on Patriot Missiles

KYIV, Ukraine-Ukraine is running out of U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missiles, leaving its cities nearly defenseless against Russia's escalating barrages of ballistic missiles.

What can Ukraine do about it?

Graham Platner Ends Maine Senate Campaign After Sexual Assault Allegation

Democratic nominee Graham Platner said he would abandon his campaign for Senate in Maine, ending a run for office that had drawn broad grassroots support but was plagued by a growing series of controversies.

Platner's decision came just days after he was publicly accused by a former romantic partner of sexual assault, which he denied. The move allows the state Democratic Party to find a replacement on the November ballot to face incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins, in what Democrats consider a must-win seat in their fight to take back the chamber.

U.S. Targets One of Cuba's Last Lifelines: Its Army of Overseas Doctors

The Trump administration's pressure campaign against Cuba's Communist government is zeroing in on the island's most valuable export and one of its few remaining sources of hard currency: the doctors and nurses it deploys abroad.

The U.S. has blocked fuel shipments, sanctioned and indicted its top officials and curbed money Cubans abroad send to relatives back home. Now, the effort to throttle Cuba's decades-old medical missions-through which Havana gets payments to export doctors and nurses to more than 50 countries-threatens billions of dollars in revenue for a country already in economic free fall.

Write to priscila.barrera@wsj.com

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

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July 09, 2026 05:16 ET (09:16 GMT)

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