Europe’s STOXX 600 closes lower; investors assess Pernod Ricard

FRANKFURT: Europe’s STOXX 600 closed lower on Thursday, dragged down by healthcare stocks, while investors assessed earnings from Pernod Ricard and AI chip leader Nvidia.

The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 0.2 percent lower, reversing gains from earlier in the session. Regional bourses were mixed.

“What we’re seeing is just some concerns on the earnings front. We had some ripple effects from Nvidia earnings overnight that’s kind of playing into equities,” said Laura Cooper, head of macro credit and investment strategist at Nuveen.

European semiconductor stocks were mixed as investors parsed Nvidia’s data center outlook, which fell short of some analysts’ expectations.

ASML edged down, BESI was flat, while Infineon and ASM International rose 1.2 percent and 3.7 percent respectively.

Nvidia, the AI market bellwether, also excluded potential China sales from the forecast due to policy uncertainty.

Pernod Ricard firmed 1.4 percent after the spirits group reported a lower than expected drop in annual sales and profit and forecast improving trends from the second half of its 2026 fiscal year. Shares of peer Remy Cointreau rose 1 percent, while heavyweight LVMH added 2.2 percent.

The stocks helped France’s benchmark CAC 40 index advance 0.2 percent, recovering some ground after falling earlier this week on concerns over a potential collapse of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou’s government next month.

Political turmoil in France and concerns over the US Federal Reserve’s independence after President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire a Fed governor have weighed on European stocks this week.

Meanwhile, the European Commission proposed removing tariffs on imported US industrial goods, part of a trade agreement with the US that should result in retroactive cuts to US tariffs on European cars.

Data showed new car sales in Europe rose 5.9 percent in July, the best month for more than a year in a boost for the struggling industry.

European automobiles stocks were up 0.6 percent. Miners advanced 0.7 percent, tracking higher copper prices.

Conversely, healthcare stocks fell 0.8 percent, with Sanofi dropping 1.4 percent.