European shares pause as markets watch Middle East peace prospects; earnings on tap

Published Thu, May 7, 2026 · 03:51 PM

EUROPEAN shares were steady on Thursday, after a sharp rally in the previous session, with investors holding on to optimism that a US-Iran peace deal was close, while parsing through corporate results.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was muted at 623.56 points, as of 0703 GMT. Major regional bourses were mixed, with Germany’s DAX flat and London’s FTSE 100 down 0.2 per cent.

The European index gained 2 per cent on Wednesday, leaving it about 2 per cent away from pre-war levels.

The energy-dependent region has lagged its global peers, which have rallied to record highs on artificial intelligence-led optimism, since the onset of the war.

US President Donald Trump predicted a swift end to the war as Teheran considered a US peace proposal that is expected to end the conflict while leaving Iran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz unresolved.

Oil major Shell dipped 1.6 per cent after it reported first-quarter profit that beat expectations, but reduced the pace of its quarterly share buyback programme. Peer BP was down 1.4 per cent.

Persil maker Henkel soared 4.5 per cent after the German firm met sales expectations for the first quarter.

Shares of Siemens Healthineers tumbled 5.7 per cent after the medical tech company cut its full-year outlook due to structural change in the Chinese market and pronounced inflation expectations. REUTERS