European stocks were largely stable at the beginning of trading on Wednesday, as investors’ wariness of escalating tensions in the Middle East limited the impact of gains achieved by technology stocks, supported by strong expectations for ASML, a maker of electronic chip equipment.
By 07:09 GMT, the European STOXX 600 index fell by 0.1% to 641.07 points, with most sectors recording limited losses.
The technology sector rose by 1.4%, after ASML shares jumped by about 6% after the company raised its financial expectations for the year 2026, which strengthened investor confidence in the continued demand for artificial intelligence technologies. Shares of chip companies, including ASM and Sotec, also rose by more than 2% each.
On the other hand, the German index was the weakest performer among the region’s markets, declining by about 1% due to the decline in the shares of the software company SAP by 2%, in addition to the decline in the shares of other software companies such as Dassault Systems and Capgemini.
Among the most prominent gainers, the shares of the Swiss company Richemont, which owns the Cartier brand, rose by 5.3% after announcing quarterly results that exceeded expectations, supported by the growth in demand for jewelry in Asia and the Americas.
Investors are awaiting the companies’ business results and future expectations, at a time when oil prices have risen to about $85 per barrel, against the backdrop of escalating tension between Iran and the United States and Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
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