European stocks end steady as gains in autos, chemicals offset Iran war uncertainty (updated)

Oersted A/S

27/05/2026 09:47

Auto, chemical stocks among top gainers; renewables decline
Naturgy falls after CVC Capital Partners exits €4 bln stake 
Iran war fallout amplifying Europe's financial vulnerabilities, ECB warns
Updates with closing levels
By Johann M Cherian and Ragini Mathur

    May 27 (Reuters) - European shares ended little changed on Wednesday, holding near record levels reached before the Iran war began, as gains in automobile and chemical stocks offset lingering concerns over the conflict and its potential impact on energy markets.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed up 0.03% at 628.18 points after trading modestly higher earlier in the session and about 1% below its all-time high touched before the conflict began in late February.
Markets took some comfort from a pullback in oil prices, with Brent crude LCOc1 down 3.2%, even as investors continued to track mixed signals from Washington and Tehran.
 Iran's state TV said it had obtained a draft of an unofficial framework for an initial understanding between the United States and Iran to end the conflict. It said it included a provision for Tehran to restore shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within a month, but the White House dismissed the report as false.
On Tuesday, Iran accused the U.S. of violating a ceasefire, raising fresh doubts over the durability of peace efforts.
"Europe is more exposed than the U.S. to the economic transmission channel of the conflict, which is obviously related to energy," Luca Bindelli, head of investment strategy at Lombard Odier, said. 
"If we were to reach a deal, some of these concerns building around Europe would probably unwind," Bindelli said. 
"We would not necessarily see the earnings picture improve materially in the immediate aftermath, but from a sentiment and multiples perspective, Europe could rebound."
A rise in energy prices has been a key reason European equities underperformed Wall Street this year, according to analysts. 
 The European Central Bank also warned on Wednesday that the war and lingering trade tensions could hurt euro zone growth, raise borrowing costs and strain some member states' public finances.
Autos and parts .SXAP rose 2.5% after data showed Europe's car registrations rose 7% in April, supported by demand for electrified vehicles.
Chemicals .SX4P climbed more than 1.3%, helped by a 19.5% jump in AkzoNobel AKZO.AS after the Dulux paint maker rejected a joint cash takeover offer of 73 euros ($85) per share from Nippon Paint 4612.T and Sherwin-Williams SHW.N.
Naturgy NTGY.MC fell 4% after private equity firm CVC Capital Partners sold its entire 13.8% stake in the Spanish energy company at a discount.
Clean energy stocks were also under pressure, with Nordex NDXG.DE down 3%, while Orsted ORSTED.CO and Vestas VWS.CO lost 3.1% and 7.4%, respectively.
Polish video game developer CD Projekt CDR.WA dropped 7.5% after it said it would release a third story expansion for its flagship game, "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt," in 2027 rather than this year as the market had anticipated.    
($1 = 0.86 euros)

 (Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Rashmi Aich and Tomasz Janowski)
 ((johann.mcherian@thomsonreuters.com))