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Shares of German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall were 6.2% lower by 2 p.m. in London (9 a.m. ET), making it the worst performing stock on Germany’s DAX index.

It came after the company reported sales of 2.43 billion euros ($2.8 billion) for the second quarter, below the 2.5 billion euros expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Quarterly earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) came in at 236 million euros, a way off from the 295 million euros anticipated by analysts ahead of the release.

Rheinmetall said that contracts had not been awarded during the reporting period given the election of a new government in Germany, one of the military contractor’s biggest clients and its domestic market.

However, it said strong demand in its defense division alongside an anticipated influx of orders in the second half meant Rheinmetall was able to confirm its full-year guidance.

“Rheinmetall is successfully on its way to becoming a global defence champion. We are now also a serious partner for US companies,” CEO Armin Papperger said in a statement alongside the results. “Our order books are full and will continue to grow in the future.”

— Chloe Taylor

The British Pound rose by 0.5% after the Bank of England cut interest rates by 25 basis points, as expected.

The central bank’s monetary policy committee was split on reducing or holding interest rate with four members wanting to hold rates and four others voting to cut. One MPC member voted for a larger 50-basis-point cut.

The MPC was forced to hold a second round of voting to arrive at a majority decision to cut rates by 25 basis points.

In June, the MPC’s decision to hold rates was less fractured with a 6-3 majority.

Switzerland-listed stocks gained more ground by 10:10 a.m. London time (5:10 a.m. ET), with the country’s SMI index rising by 0.9%.

It marked a rebound from the previous session, which saw Swiss shares decline as a delegation from the country traveled to Washington, D.C., for trade talks — and ultimately left without a deal to spare the country from 39% U.S. tariffs.

“Switzerland is in a tough spot but not without options,” Torsten Sauter, head of Swiss equity research at Kepler Cheuvreux, said in a Thursday note to clients.

He said Swiss officials could file a WTO complaint against the U.S. tariffs or put retaliation measures in place, such as restricting U.S. procurement access to its companies. But he said he sees “a quiet diplomatic push” as the more likely next step from Swiss authorities.

“Switzerland may offer targeted concessions — on pharma pricing, digital tax, or defence deals — to reopen talks,” Sauter said. “It is pragmatic but may require uncomfortable compromises. Meanwhile, Swiss multinationals can lobby in the US, stressing job losses and investment ties. While short on hard power, Switzerland’s legal clarity, global reputation, and elite exporters still give it quiet leverage.”

— Chloe Taylor

Allianz shares were 5.5% higher by 9:48 a.m. in London (4:48 a.m. ET), after the company confirmed its full-year targets and beat expectations in the second quarter with a 13% jump in net profit.

The German insurer said its second quarter results were boosted by the property-casualty segment.

— Emilia Hardie

Zurich Insurance CEO Mario Greco told CNBC this morning that he is “confused” by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements, saying he believes it is part of a game to create chaos.

His comments came as Europe’s third-largest insurer posted a 6% jump in first-half operating profit amid an uptick in spending on policies for weather-related disasters.

Shares of Zurich Insurance were last seen trading 1.5% higher.

— David Martin

Sandoz shares were last seen 6.8% higher, after the company confirmed its full-year guidance and first-half sales came in above analyst expectations.

The Swiss generic drug manufacturer said growth across the first half was driven by its biosimilars business.

— Emilia Hardie

The Swiss franc was 0.1% higher against the U.S. dollar by 9:15 a.m. in London (4:15 a.m. ET), paring earlier gains but still putting the currency on course for its third consecutive day of gains against the greenback.

The franc shed around 0.5% against the greenback on Monday, when Swiss markets reopened following U.S. President Donald Trump’s shock announcement that Switzerland would soon be hit with a blanket 39% tariff.

Switzerland’s currency, widely seen as a safe haven asset in times of market or geopolitical instability, has gained more than 11% against the dollar since the beginning of the year.

Despite the currency’s rise in recent days, however, Deutsche Bank strategists pointed out this morning that the Swiss franc had been the worst performing G10 currency this week, as Swiss officials failed to secure a deal with Washington that would spare Switzerland from the full force of Trump’s so-called “reciprocal” tariffs regime.

Kamal Sharma, G10 foreign exchange strategist at Bank of America, told CNBC in a phone call on Wednesday that his team was expecting some short-term weakness in the Swiss franc that would precede a rally in the longer term.

“Given the backdrop of 0% rates and concerns about tariffs on equity market performance, what we think is going to happen is that Swiss asset managers are going to liquidate from the dollar and then rotate into European equity markets because of the German fiscal bazooka,” he explained. “So that should weaken the Swiss franc, [but] generally on a 12 to 18 month basis, we expect currencies to gravitate to some form of fair value, and that means your Swiss should be higher.”

— Chloe Taylor

Switzerland’s SMI index was hovering just above the flatline in early trade on Thursday, as investors weighed new 39% tariffs on Swiss goods imported to the United States.

The new blanket tariff rate on Switzerland came into effect in the early hours of Thursday morning, after Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter left Washington, DC, without a U.S. trade deal on Wednesday.

Switzerland’s Federal Council will hold an Extraordinary Meeting this afternoon, with a statement set to be issued afterward.

— Chloe Taylor

Stocks are broadly on the rise 20 minutes into today’s trading session, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index last seen around 0.2% higher.

The regional Stoxx Travel & Leisure index is leading gains on a rise of 1.6%.

France’s CAC 40 index, up 0.3%, is leading gains among Europe’s major bourses, while London’s FTSE 100 is down 0.3%.

— Chloe Taylor

The chief executive of Spain’s Deoleo, the world’s largest olive oil producer, says a bumper harvest and improving market sentiment show that the industry is recovering from one of its toughest moments ever.

A substantial olive harvest, notably in Spain, has helped to restore confidence in the sector and led to a pronounced fall in prices for both extra virgin and virgin olive oils in supermarkets.

It comes after two consecutive seasons of poor yields resulted in a period of extraordinary turbulence throughout the olive oil value chain.

Read the full story here.

— Sam Meredith

Danish shipping giant Maersk on Thursday posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter operating profit, citing continued focus on operational improvements despite unprecedented geopolitical volatility.

The company, widely considered a barometer of global trade, reported preliminary underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $2.3 billion for the June quarter.

That’s up around 7% from $2.14 billion over the same period a year ago and above the $1.97 billion expected by analysts in an LSEG poll.

Read more from CNBC’s Sam Meredith here.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called “reciprocal” tariffs took effect on Thursday, imposing higher duties on many of the country’s trading partners’ exports to the U.S.

“IT’S MIDNIGHT!!! BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TARIFFS ARE NOW FLOWING INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!” Trump wrote on social media platform Truth Social.

Read more here.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” this morning that he expects a pick-up in investment now that the European Union had reached a trade deal with the United States.

“Due to these tariff discussions, nobody started investing. So we needed certainty, and with the latest deal … between the United States and Europe, we have now certainty, which we believe will then trigger investments going forward,” he said.

However, Busch labeled the impact of tariffs on the business this year “minor,” and insisted Siemens was well positioned to withstand the impact of U.S. tariffs, which now stand at a blanket 15% rate on EU goods.

“The local-for-local content in the United States is 85-plus-percent,” he said. “We invested also in our manufacturing sites, for example, for smart infrastructure, for electrification, we doubled our capacity there.”

Siemens had also assessed its supply chains and pricing, he added, and had contracts in place that allowed it to adapt according to tariffs.

“So this is the bag we have at Siemens, which makes us more resilient than maybe others,” Busch added.

Siemens confirmed its full-year outlook on Thursday morning, with the firm posting a 28% annual rise in third-quarter orders on a comparable basis.

Quarterly revenue jumped 5% from the previous year to reach 19.4 billion euros ($22.6 billion). Analysts had been expecting revenue to hit 19.3 billion euros in the quarter, according to LSEG data.

The company’s key profit indicator for its industrials business, however, fell 7% year on year.

— Emilia Hardie, Chloe Taylor

Good morning from London, and welcome to CNBC’s live blog covering all the action and business news in European financial markets on Thursday.

Futures data from IG suggests a broadly positive open for European indexes, with London’s FTSE 100 seen opening flat, France’s CAC 40 up 0.13% and Germany’s DAX up 0.3%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB 0.33% higher.

Global markets continue to keep an eye on the tariff landscape this week after U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday implemented an additional 25% tariff on India, days after he already imposed a 25% levy on the country.

“I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,” Trump said in an executive order.

India said it is “extremely unfortunate that the U.S. should choose to impose additional tariffs … for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest,” according to a statement, adding that its imports are based on “market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India.”

The president also signaled on Tuesday that he will announce new tariffs on semiconductors and chips as soon as next week.

It’s another busy day of earnings Thursday, with Siemens, Deutsche Telekom, Allianz, Zurich Insurance, Merck, Moeller Maersk, Swisscom, Henkel, Rheinmetall and Uniper all due to report. Data releases include French and German trade balances.

The Bank of England will be publishing its latest monetary policy decision, with the central bank expected to cut interest rates from 4.25% to 4%.

— Holly Ellyatt