A Renault Scenic electric vehicle (EV) at the Munich Motor Show (IAA) in Munich, Germany, on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023.
This was CNBC's live blog covering European markets.
European stocks closed marginally higher after paring back earlier gains on Thursday as investors reviewed another batch of earnings reports.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed 0.06% higher, with the majority of major bourses trading in positive territory while sectors were mixed. Travel and leisure stocks added 3.1% while chemicals fell 0.65%.
Shares of Renault jumped more than 7% earlier in the day after the French carmaker reported an unexpected uptick in third-quarter revenue amid strong demand for its pricier models. The stock closed 4.7% higher.
Barclays shares also rose over 5%, before closing up 4.2%, after the British bank reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.
Meanwhile, Hermes added 2.3%, before paring gains slightly, after the French fashion house reported an increase in third quarter sales, as demand for its Birkin bags continue to outweigh a wider downturn in luxury sales. Shares were 1% higher when markets closed.
State side, the S&P 500 rose Thursday after three straight days of declines. The Nasdaq Composite also inched higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped. This comes after U.S. markets recorded a losing session on Wednesday.
Money Report
The declines prompted Asia-Pacific markets to mostly fall overnight. U.S. stock futures linked to the S&P 500 traded near the flatline.
— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this market summary
European markets close marginally higher
European markets closed marginally higher on Thursday, paring back earlier gains.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed 0.06% higher. Sectors were mixed with travel and leisure stocks ending the day up 3.1%, while chemicals fell 0.65%.
Major regional bourses mostly finished the day in positive territory, including Germany's DAX which closed 0.39% higher.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Rate cuts isn't really a situation where ECB needs to rush, strategist says
Guillaume Menuet, EMEA head of investment strategy and economics at Citi Wealth, weighs in on the European Central Bank's future path for interest rates.
Travel and leisure stocks rise more than 3%
Travel and leisure stocks rose over 3% on Thursday, the biggest jump among sectors, as shares in Swedish gaming company Evolution climbed as much as 14%.
The sector was last 3.3% higher at 3:05 p.m. London time.
Evolution provides business to business solutions for casino operators. The company on Thursday reported third-quarter results that were in line with forecasts amid issues with its workers in Georgia, Reuters reported.
— Sophie Kiderlin
S&P 500 opens lower on Thursday
Shortly after market open, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 0.3% and 0.6%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 106 points, or more than 0.2%, meanwhile.
— Pia Singh
Stocks on the move: Abrdn down 9%, Softcat up 11%
Shares of asset management firm Abrdn fell 9% after its third-quarter results showed clients continued to withdraw billion of pounds from its funds this year amid what it described as "challenging conditions" within global markets.
On the other end, IT infrastructure firm Softcat jumped nearly 11% on better-than-expected full-year results.
— Karen Gilchrist
Euro zone business activity ticks lower
Euro zone economic activity continued to shrink in October, the S&P Flash Eurozone PMI index showed Thursday.
The survey of purchasing managers came in at 49.7, slightly above the previous month's 49.6 but still below the 50-point mark that indicates growth.
— Karen Gilchrist
UK private sector growth falls to 11-month low
Growth in the U.K.'s private sector slipped to an 11-month low in October, the S&P Global Flash UK PMI composite output index showed Thursday, ahead of the government's highly awaited budget announcement next week.
The index, which measures the health of the manufacturing and services private sectors, dipped to 51.7 from 52.6 in September. The October figure was also below the 52.6 forecast by economists polled by LSEG.
The report pointed to "anecdotal evidence" of business uncertainty ahead of the Oct. 30 Autumn budget and "concerns among clients about near-term domestic economic growth prospects."
— Karen Gilchrist
Barclays CEO says bank 'on track' to meet full-year target
Barclays CEO C. S. Venkatakrishnan tells CNBC the bank is on track to meet its full-year target after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter results.
"It's a very encouraging set of earnings. We are on track to meet the targets which we set out in our financial plan in February," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe."
The bank announced a huge operational overhaul in February, including substantial cost cuts, asset sales and a reorganization of its business divisions. It also pledged to return £10 billion to shareholders between 2024 and 2026 through dividends and share buybacks.
Barclays shares hit a nine-year high Thursday, with the stock last seen up 3.3%.
— Karen Gilchrist
Hermes sales rise 11.3% in third quarter
Shares of French fashion house Hermes gained 2.3% after the company reported a significant increase in third quarter sales, as demand for its Birkin bags continued to outweigh a wider downturn in luxury sales, especially in China.
The French fashion house recorded revenues of 3.7 billion euros ($3.99 billion) in the three months to September, up 11.3% year-on-year. Hermes maintained its medium-term guidance of continued revenue growth.
Growth was slowest in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan, the company said, while noting that it hadn't observed an additional decline in China after it reported "downturn in traffic" around the Chinese New Year period.
— Karen Gilchrist
European markets open slightly higher
European stocks opened up slightly higher on Thursday, as traders reviewed another batch of earnings reports.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.25% in opening trade, with the majority of major bourses and sectors trading in positive territory. Travel and leisure stocks added 1.13% while retail shares led losses, dipping 0.24%.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index opened 0.55% higher at 8,304, Germany's DAX up 0.47% at 19,460, France's CAC up 0.48% at 7,533 and Italy's FTSE MIB 0.45% higher at 34,888.
— Karen Gilchrist
Barclays profit jumps 23% in third quarter
British bank Barclays on Thursday reported £1.6 billion ($2 billion) net profit attributable to shareholders for the third quarter, beating expectations.
The result compared with the £1.17 billion net profit forecast in an LSEG poll of analysts, and was 23% higher than the same period in 2023.
Revenue for the period came in at £6.5 billion, slightly ahead of a forecast of £6.39 billion.
— Jenni Reid
Renault revenues rise in the third quarter
French carmaker Renault on Thursday reported an unexpected uptick in third-quarter revenue amid strong demand for its pricier models.
Group revenue for the period came in at 10.7 billion euros ($11.54 billion), up 5% from the same period of 2023 at constant exchange rates, driven by the launch of 10 new products this year.
Auto revenues reached 9.3 billion euros, up 2.6% on a constant-exchange rate basis, the company said.
— Karen Gilchrist
CNBC Pro: Want to cash in on the boom in robots? Bernstein names 3 stocks to play the trend
Robots - or automated devices that can execute tasks without human intervention - are witnessing a "new inflection point" and several global stocks are leading in a corner of the ecosystem, according to Bernstein.
These stocks are captured under the arc welding segment or "one of the largest robotic applications," the investment banks' analysts noted. Such robots account for around 10 - 20% of annual robot shipments, they added, naming three overweight-rated stocks they like.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Amala Balakrishner
CNBC Pro: Bernstein names its top European stock picks — and gives 4 more than 50% upside
Bernstein has identified a handful of European companies as top stock picks, with four showing potential gains of more than 50 percent.
The stocks named span diverse sectors, from recreational vehicle manufacturing to semiconductor production, reflecting Bernstein's confidence in various European market segments.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open in flat to mixed territory Wednesday.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 3 points lower at 8,304, Germany's DAX up 8 points at 19,440, France's CAC down 9 points at 7,529 and Italy's FTSE MIB down 47 points at 34,490, according to data from IG.
It's a busy day for earnings Wednesday, with Deutsche Bank, Roche, Heineken, Volvo, Swedbank and AkzoNobel among the companies reporting. On the data front, Europe consumer confidence figures are due.
— Holly Ellyatt
