LONDON — European stocks edged higher on Tuesday as investors await Washington’s response to Iranian peace proposals and react to earnings reports from several regional companies.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up almost 0.1% shortly after 10:45 a.m. BST (5:45 a.m. E.T.), as stock markets in London, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan all traded higher.
Regional sectors were mixed. Energy stocks led with a 1.6% gain after Brent crude prices surged to $111 a barrel, the highest level in three weeks, with banking names advancing 1.2%. Chemicals were last seen almost 1.1% lower.
In a busy day for European corporate earnings, Swiss drugmaker Novartis slipped 2.2% after reporting its first-quarter earnings, with group operating income dropping 12% on an annual basis to $4.9 billion. It fell below the $5.3 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG.
U.K. energy major BP also reported first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, with the company’s profits for the quarter more than doubling and beating expectations. Its London-listed shares were last seen up 3.7%.
Barclays shares fell 0.4% after the U.K. lender took a £200 million ($270 million) credit-related hit during the first quarter, driven by the bank’s exposure to stricken property lender Market Financial Solutions.
The U.K. lender on Tuesday reported a pre-tax profit of £2.81 billion for the first quarter, up 3% on last year’s £2.72 billion. Its CET1 ratio was 14.1%. It also announced a £500 million share buyback to follow an ongoing £1 billion program upon completion. Overall, Barclays intends to return more than £15 billion of capital to shareholders between 2026 and 2028.
Airbus, which also updated investors on its first quarter performance, was last seen trading 0.3% higher.
Investors will be assessing the news that U.S. President Donald Trump and his national security team discussed Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. lifts its blockade and the war ends, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Monday.
The proposal would postpone negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions for a later date, Axios and The Associated Press reported earlier in the session.
It’s unclear whether Trump, who has vowed not to lift the blockade until a deal with Iran is “100% complete,” entertained the reported offer to end the two-month-old war. Oil prices edged higher overnight as uncertainty lingered over the outcome of the war.
In corporate news, German biotechnology giant Bayer went before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday in a bid to bring thousands of lawsuits against its herbicide Roundup to an end.
Bayer acquired Roundup maker Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018 and has faced years of litigation since the deal was completed, amid claims that glyphosate, an ingredient in the weedkiller, has been the cause of health issues, including cancer.
Justices were reportedly divided after hearing arguments in Monday’s hearing, during which Bayer laid out its appeal against a Missouri court’s award of $1.25 million to a man who said years of exposure to Roundup were behind his non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis.
Activists for the “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, movement, gathered outside the court on Monday to protest against Bayer.
Bayer’s Frankfurt-listed shares were 2.8% lower on Tuesday morning.
Global market attention will also be focusing on central banks this week, with the U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England all due to hold pivotal meetings as the war upends inflation and growth expectations.
The Fed’s policy decision on Wednesday could mark Jerome Powell’s final meeting as chair before Kevin Warsh is expected to take over in May. The Department of Justice decided to drop its criminal probe into Powell on Friday, causing Sen. Thom Tillis to end his block of Warsh’s confirmation.
The ECB and BOE both publish their latest monetary policy decisions on Thursday, with economists expecting the central banks to stand pat on their benchmark interest rates at their respective meetings this month. However, the central banks are expected to leave the door open to hikes later this year.
— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this market report.
