Patrons shop for produce at a Mr. Pina Market in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023.
This was CNBC's live blog covering European markets.
European stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with global markets assessing the latest U.S. inflation data.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally ended the day 0.17% lower after paring back some earlier losses. Most sectors pulled back, with tech stocks falling 1.2% while oil and gas stocks added 1.3%.
U.S. inflation data released Wednesday showed consumer prices rose slightly in October, though the increase was in line with expectations. U.S. stocks were last flat.
Looking at individual stock moves in Europe today, shares of Just Eat Takeaway stock soared 20% at one point on Wednesday and closed 15.95% higher after the company said it had struck a deal to sell its U.S. unit Grubhub to Wonder for $650 million.
Siemens Energy was also a top performer on the Stoxx 600 index as its shares jumped as much as 19% after the German energy company upgraded its mid-term financial targets.
- CNBC's Hakyung Kim contributed to this markets report.
Money Report
European markets close lower for second consecutive day
European markets provisionally closed 0.17% lower on Wednesday. The Stoxx 600 index pared back some earlier losses but still finished the day in negative territory for the second day in a row.
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Sectors were mostly lower, with tech stocks falling 1.2% while oil and gas stocks added 1.3%.
Bourses across the region closed mixed after widely trading in the red for most of the day, with Germany's DAX and the French CAC both dipping while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 eked out a 0.06% gain.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Pandora is pivoting away from charms focus toward being seen more as a 'full jewelry brand', CEO says
Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik on Wednesday told CNBC that the company has been pivoting "from just being associated with charms into being seen more as a full jewelry brand" in recent years.
This comes after "the strategy of the brand has been for many years essentially to push our charms and carrier business," he said. The company has a "pretty big" market share in the wristwear segment, but only a small presence in other segments of the jewelry market, Lacik explained.
"I have customers coming through the door, they've accessorized themselves with necklaces and earrings and other jewelry segments somewhere else, but they're in my store, they're there to buy charms, they clearly like the brand, so the whole idea was okay let's take a little bit of share wallet from all these other people that are selling jewelry to them," he said.
— Sophie Kiderlin
'We have a land of opportunity in front of us,' SSE CEO says as he announces his retirement
The chief executive of British power generator and network operator SSE, Alistair Phillips-Davies, is set to step down in 2025 after an eleven-year tenure as CEO, the company announced Wednesday.
"It's always a hard decision," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Wednesday. "The company's incredibly well placed, I think we have a land of opportunity in front of us."
Phillips-Davies said he believed it was time to give the board of SSE the opportunity to put a team together to lead the company long term. A successor has not yet been named. Phillips-Davies said the board would consider internal and external candidates for his role.
SSE on Wednesday also posted its results for the first half of the year. Adjusted operating profit came in at £860.2 million ($1.09 billion) in the six months to September 30, a 24% increase from the same time period a year earlier.
Shares in SSE were last down 0.56% at 3:21 p.m. London time.
— Sophie Kiderlin
Bitcoin tops $90,000
Bitcoin extended its postelection rally Wednesday, breaking above $90,000. The flagship cryptocurrency was last up 1% at $90,796.
— Fred Imbert
Stocks open little changed
Stocks were roughly flat shortly after the opening bell on Wednesday, as investors weighed fresh inflation data and how much cardio the postelection rally has left.
The S&P 500 ticked up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.09%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 22 points, or 0.09%.
— Brian Evans
CPI rises 2.6% in October, as expected
Consumer prices rose slightly in October, though the increase was in line with expectations.
The consumer price index gained 0.2% month over month and 2.6% from the year-earlier period, as expected. Excluding food and energy, CPI rose 0.3% month over month, also matching Dow Jones estimates.
— Fred Imbert
Trump's economic agenda risks global economy, ECB member warns
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's economic agenda risks returning inflation to the United States and hurting economic growth worldwide, Bank of France head and European Central Bank (ECB) member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Wednesday.
"The programme risks bringing back inflation to the United States," Villeroy told France Inter radio. "It risks lowering growth a little bit, all over the world. It remains to be seen if the reduction will be felt more in the United States, China or in Europe."
Trump has floated the idea of a tariff of 10% or more on all goods imported into the United States, which he says would eliminate its trade deficit.
But Villeroy predicted U.S. consumers would bear the brunt of many of the tariffs. "Protectionism almost always means reduced purchasing power for consumers," Villeroy said.
— Reuters
Winners and losers on the Stoxx 600 index
Technology, autos and financial services were the big losers on the Stoxx 600 index Wednesday morning, with each sector down over 1%, as traders in Europe assessed the likelihood of trade tariffs when President-Elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
Oil and gas stocks traded 0.7% higher, however, while banks were up 0.3% and insurance stocks up 0.2%.
Markets continue to price in tariffs on European exports to the States, with the president-elect vowing to impose a 10% tariff on all imports, a move that would hit European producers hard, with the machinery, pharmaceutical, automotive, and chemicals industries seen as the most exposed to tariffs.
Export-orientated economies such as Germany and the Netherlands are seen as countries with the most to lose from potential tariffs.
— Holly Ellyatt
Tencent posts better-than-expected 47% profit surge
Chinese social media and gaming company Tencent on Wednesday reported better-than-expected profit in the third quarter, spurred by growth in games, advertising and cloud services.
Tencent reported profit attributable to shareholders surged by 47% year-on-year to 53.23 billion yuan ($7.37 billion) in the third quarter, compared with an LSEG estimate of 46.18 billion yuan for the period.
The company's revenue rose by an annual 8% to 167.19 billion yuan, short of the 167.82 billion yuan analyst forecast.
— Evelyn Cheng
Siemens Energy shares rocket 19% on target upgrades
Shares of Siemens Energy rocketed 19.1% Wednesday morning after the German energy company upgraded its mid-term financial targets.
In its fourth-quarter earnings released late on Tuesday, the utility company said it expected comparable annual revenue growth in a range of 8-10% for next year, and a high single-digit to a low double-digit percentage range until 2028.
"For the Profit margin in fiscal year 2028, we strive to reach a range between 10% to 12%," the company said.
"In a pivotal fiscal year 2024, we achieved all our goals, driven by strong orders and project execution across all our businesses. Our focus remains on profitable growth, supported by highly favorable market conditions. The new mid-term targets until fiscal year 2028 reflect our leading role in the energy transition," Christian Bruch, the president and CEO of Siemens Energy, said in the earnings report.
— Holly Ellyatt
Just Eat Takeaway soars 20%
Shares of Just Eat Takeaway soared 20% shortly after the open Wednesday after the company said it had struck a deal to sell its U.S. unit Grubhub to Wonder for $650 million.
Europe's food delivery giant said back in 2022 that it was considering the sale of its U.S. arm after facing pressure from investors to explore strategic deals.
"The sale of Grubhub to Wonder will increase the cash generation capabilities of Just Eat Takeaway.com and will accelerate our growth," Jitse Groen, founder and CEO of Just Eat Takeaway.com, said in a statement Wednesday.
— Holly Ellyatt
Allianz beats forecasts with 22% rise in profit
Germany's Allianz on Wednesday beat expectations with a 22% rise in third-quarter net profit, helped by lower claims from natural catastrophes, and it gave an improved outlook for 2024.
The property and casualty division was cited as a particular area of strength because claims from natural catastrophes were down from a year ago, even though such damages remained high, the company said.
Allianz, among Europe's largest financial services groups and operator of the giant PIMCO brand, reported net profit attributable to shareholders of 2.47 billion euros ($2.62 billion) in the three months through September, compared with a profit of 2.02 billion euros a year earlier. The figure surpassed a 2.37 billion euro consensus forecast.
— Reuters
Dogecoin surges 20% after Trump announces a Department of Government Efficiency
Dogecoin shot higher on Tuesday night, extending its postelection surge after President-elect Donald Trump formally announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, which he referred to as "DOGE" in his statement.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, former Republican presidential candidate and Strive Asset Management co-founder, will lead the department, Trump said in a statement. Together, they "will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."
Dogecoin was last up nearly 20%. It has been one of the biggest winners in the postelection rally, gaining 153% since election day compared to bitcoin's 30% rise in the same period. It also shot past XRP this week to become the sixth largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
— Tanaya Macheel
Dutch lender ABN Amro's third quarter profit beats expectations
Dutch lender ABN Amro beat third-quarter profit expectations, driven by sustained improvement of net interest income (NII), and strong performance of fees, the bank said on Wednesday.
ABN Amro, one of three dominant banks in the Netherlands, posted a 9% fall in quarterly net profit to 690 million euros ($732.30 million), compared to a year earlier.
That beat analysts' average forecast of 528 million euros in a poll compiled by the company.
— Reuters
CNBC Pro: This SpaceX-competitor's stock has bounced back postelection and analysts love it
Shares of a satellite startup have made a strong comeback, regaining their losses following President-elect Donald Trump's recent victory.
The company's stock tanked by about 10% in the two days after the U.S. elections as investors feared the company might be disadvantaged due to Musk's close relationship with the new U.S. administration.
But analysts say the company currently has "superior technology" compared to SpaceX's Starlink.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
CNBC Pro: Morgan Stanley fund manager picks stocks to play Trump's win
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's election win has sent shock waves through the stock market and left investors scrambling to work out which sectors — and stocks — are set to benefit.
Aaron Dunn, portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley's U.S. Value Fund, noted the "great deal of volatility" in markets following the election result, as markets reprice "what had been a 50/50 election."
Speaking to CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Tuesday, Dunn, who's also co-head of value equity at Morgan Stanley, identified three stocks he is betting on following the election result.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Amala Balakrishner
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open positive territory Wednesday.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 36 points higher at 8,056, Germany's DAX up 38 points at 19,081, France's CAC up 11 points at 7,356 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 68 points at 33,335, according to data from IG.
Earnings will come from ABN Amro, RWE, SSE, Alstom, Siemens Energy, Allianz and Telecom Italia.
— Holly Ellyatt
