European shares rise on solid earnings but Carrefour slumps after French unrest

European shares rose on Wednesday as a slew of solid earnings reports cheered investors. However, French supermarket chain Carrefour slumped as it issued a profit warning as it counted the cost of trading disruptions caused by unrest across the country.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.9 per cent higher.

Over the on the bond markets, euro zone bond market interest rates – or yields – rose, led by another increase in French borrowing costs to their highest since mid-2002, ​as widespread French protests added to concerns over the country’s fragile finances and political uncertainty.

A rebound in crude oil prices above $110 a barrel after a brief retreat the previous day added to pressure on bond markets.

Dublin

The Iseq All-Share index rose 0.9 per cent to 14,292.67.

Kenmare, which is currently the subject of bid interest from an Abu Dhabi company, jumped 7.5 per cent to €2.86 on hopes that the group will sign a new royalties deal covering its key Moma mine in Mozambique. While local reports have cited Mozambique government officials as saying that a “definitive agreement” had been reached, after four years of talks, Kenmare said on Tuesday it was unable to confirm this.

Banking stocks were in demand, with AIB rising 2.3 per cent to €11.15 and Bank of Ireland advancing 0.7 per cent to €18.75.

Ryanair, the largest company on the Iseq by market value, advanced 0.9 per cent to €23.57. Its chief executive, Michael O’Leary, warned on Tuesday that European airfares are set to jump next year as fuel-hedging contracts, which protected the industry to varying degrees from the full brunt of a spike in oil prices in 2025, peter out.

London

The UK’s FTSE 100 ‌edged 0.1 per cent higher, supported by gains in oil majors and financial stocks, though hotter-than-expected ‌inflation reinforced expectations of a Bank of England interest rate hike, limiting the index’s upside. UK inflation rose to ​3.5 per cent.

Energy giants gained, with BP and Shell among the biggest boosts to the large-caps index.

Britain approved the Jackdaw North Sea gasfield, ending years of legal and political wrangling ‌as the Labour government seeks ⁠to balance its climate goals with energy security concerns.

Asset manager Aberdeen Group, among the top losers on the ‌FTSE 100, fell 4 per cent after flagging a slower-than-expected return to adviser-segment inflows.

Bicycles-to-car ​parts retailer Halfords dropped about 8.6 per cent, the steepest on ​the FTSE 250, after posting first-half results.

Europe

Carrefour dropped 13.8 per cent after the supermarket chain cut its annual earnings forecast, saying riots, looting and curfews had raised costs and disrupted trading at its stores.

The unrest in France has ⁠added to concerns about ​the country’s weakening public finances and slowing growth.

French tire maker Michelin reversed 7.2 per cent after reporting a drop in nine-month sales.

Randstad jumped 20.2 per cent after the Dutch recruitment firm reported organic revenue growth of 3.9 per cent for the third quarter, beating analysts’ estimates.

DSV gained 15.1 per cent after the Danish transport and logistics firm reported a rise in ‌its third-quarter revenue.

New York

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led US stock indices higher in early afternoon trading after quarterly results from SpaceX and Super Micro Computer ‌improved appetite for AI-linked stocks, while Netflix slipped as its forecast failed to impress investors.

Elon Musk’s rocket and space technology firm jumped after he said on ​Tuesday that a merger of SpaceX and Tesla would be “a good idea”.

Super Micro soared to the top of the S&P 500 after the AI server maker forecast quarterly revenue and profit margin above Wall Street estimates, signalling that ​AI demand remained resilient. Peers HPE and Dell also rose.

Investors drew comfort from the reports as concerns over the profitability of the AI buildout triggered a sell-off ⁠in AI-linked stocks last week, with data center operator CoreWeave at the centre of the storm.

AT&T fell despite beating third-quarter revenue and profit estimates.

Abbott Laboratories declined after the medical device maker cut its 2026 sales ​growth forecast. – Additional reporting, Reuters