Live Markets: Before the bell: Europe builds on record close as earnings flow in

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

06/08/2026 07:49

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BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPE FIRMER AROUND RECORD LEVELS AS EARNINGS FLOW IN
European shares were set to edge higher on Thursday, with progress in Iran-Oman talks helping keep Brent crude below $80 a barrel and allowing markets to shrug off a pull-back in Asian technology stocks after the latest AI-fuelled rally.
Euro STOXX 50 .STOXX50E, DAX .GDAXI and FTSE .FTSE futures were up around 0.2%, building on the previous day's record highs. 
The rally has been underpinned by strong corporate growth, with analysts continuing to raise profit forecasts as the reporting season unfolds. Second-quarter earnings for the region-wide STOXX 600 .STOXX are now expected to have grown by nearly 21%, up from around 12.5% forecast in early May, per LSEG data.
Still, gains could be tempered by weakness in oil and gas stocks, as well as declines in European chipmakers tracking the Asian tech sell-off, despite another batch of solid corporate results. Nordic Semi NOD.OL slipped 1.3% on Tradegate even after beating revenue estimates, helped by cloud services demand, while ASML ASML.AS fell more than 1%.
       Meanwhile, underwhelming numbers from Rheinmetall RHMG.DE and RENK R3NK.DE, both called lower, could trigger some profit-taking in defence stocks, which have rallied back to test January's record highs. Hensoldt HAGG.DE was downgraded to "hold" by Jefferies.
Elsewhere, a 94%-jump in profit at Commerzbank CBKG.DE, BPER Banca EMII.MI raising its 2028 targets and KBC's KBC.BR upgraded outlook underscored the continued strength of bank earnings. Siemens SIEGn.DE, Merck KGaA MRCG.DE, SBM Offshore SBMO.AS and Henkel HNKG.DE also raised their guidance.
In the United States, Nasdaq futures edged 0.3% lower, while S&P 500 futures added 0.1%. Investors were also watching SpaceX SPCX.O, where a share lock-up expires on Thursday.
(Danilo Masoni)
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