Adizero shoes are displayed at the Adidas store in London’s Oxford Street, on 27th April 2026.
Richard Baker | In Pictures | Getty Images
LONDON — European stocks traded broadly lower on Wednesday as investors monitored another flurry of corporate earnings reports and weighed the United Arab Emirates’ shock exit from the OPEC oil cartel.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down by 0.7%, with most sectors and major bourses in negative territory.
It was a busy morning for earnings in the regional banking sector.
UBS gained 3.6% after reporting a $3 billion net profit in the first quarter, outflanking consensus forecasts. The Swiss banking giant generated strong performance across its capital markets business, as its asset management unit attracted net asset inflows.
Deutsche Bank shares were 1.9% lower after it reported a record post-tax profit of 2.17 billion euros for the first quarter, up 8% on the year, and ahead analyst estimates of 2.01 billion euros. But the German lender also revealed a 519 million credit loss provision, higher than forecast, arising from a single-name exposure.
Meanwhile, Santander‘s first quarter earnings showed an underlying profit of 3.56 billion, beating analysts’ expected 3.46 billion euros, and rising 12% year-on-year. Net interest income came in at 11 billion euros for the quarter, as revenues were boosted by 8 million new customers. Shares in the Spanish multinational lender finished the day up 1%.
Outside of banking, shares of Adidas popped 8.9% after the German sportswear giant’s first-quarter earnings beat. Sales grew 14% year-on-year to 6.6 billion euros ($7.73 billion), while operating profit jumped 16% to 705 million, surpassing analysts’ expectations.
Elsewhere, OPEC is in the spotlight after the UAE announced on Tuesday that it will exit the oil-producing cartel on May 1 in a major blow to the group that coordinates production among the world’s largest oil producers, particularly those in the Middle East.
The move complicates the outlook for oil supply. While the UAE — currently OPEC’s third largest oil producer — could move to boost production after its exit, global flows remain severely constrained by the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Investors are also keeping an eye on tech stocks after the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that OpenAI’s revenue and new user growth were below internal targets.
CFO Sarah Friar reportedly told company leadership that she was concerned OpenAI may not be able to pay computing contracts in the future if its top line doesn’t expand fast enough.
Traders across the globe are also awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision, due later on Wednesday. Markets are pricing in a 100% chance of the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee holding its key rate steady.
