European stocks erased earlier losses as Brent crude fell, while HSBC slid sharply. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.1% by 11:58 a.m. in London. Construction and miner stocks outperformed, whereas personal care and energy shares lagged.
Brent crude dropped 0.8% to $115 a barrel after Iran’s leader Mojtaba Khamenei reiterated conditions for ending the war with the US during a meeting with his security chief. This diplomatic backdrop follows a flurry of regional activity and statements from Arab Gulf states pushing for a coordinated security agreement. HSBC Holdings Plc dropped 6.8% after its third-quarter earnings fell short of estimates, though the lender kept its full-year outlook unchanged. Conversely, Porsche AG advanced 4.1% as profitability held up despite a sharp decline in vehicle sales. Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc fell 4.4% after cutting its sales forecast due to supply constraints hitting US cleaning product sales and setbacks in China.
KBC Securities head Andrea Gabellone noted that while earnings season has been "OK," it has not yet reshaped the European equities narrative.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing