Europe’s Stoxx 600 ends at record high, lifted by healthcare, chemical stocks 

EUROPEAN shares closed at a record high on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in chemicals and healthcare stocks, while investors also monitored the repercussions of simmering geopolitical tensions globally.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 finished up 0.18 per cent at 611.56 points, with chemicals leading sectoral gains with a 2 per cent jump.

EMS Chemie surged 8 per cent and was among top performers on the Stoxx index after UBS upgraded the Swiss chemical group to “buy” from “hold”. Chemical companies were also among top gainers on the US benchmark S&P 500.

On the earnings front, Finnish drugmaker Orion climbed 12 per cent to its highest since October, following a better-than-expected revenue forecast for 2026.

AstraZeneca was up 2.4 per cent, a day after it said it had agreed to buy Boston-based Modella AI, and it also aided a 1.3 per cent rise in the broader healthcare sector.

Michael Field, European equity market strategist at Morningstar, said the market was digesting some of the news around the trade deal between the EU and the Mercosur trade bloc in Latin America, which capped a quarter-century of talks.

It “allows those sectors – pharma, some industrials and indeed chemicals – to export more over time without the same trade barriers or tariffs,” Field said.

Among regional markets, Germany’s DAX index witnessed declines after logging its longest daily winning streak in more than a decade on Tuesday. The DAX closed 0.5 per cent lower, weighed by technology stocks such as SAP and Infineon.

Meanwhile, traders were digesting the bankruptcy of high-end department store conglomerate Saks Global, to which Gucci-owner Kering and the world’s biggest luxury conglomerate LVMH were listed as unsecured creditors.

Luxury stocks pared gains early in the session and finished 0.3 per cent lower.

“The situation raises concerns about consumer demand, especially at the higher end of the market, and about extreme competition in the space, including from e-commerce,” said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

Investors were also eyeing geopolitical developments in Venezuela and Iran, with most of the impact seen in commodity prices.

Miners gained 1.8 per cent, while defence stocks fell 1.6 per cent, snapping eight straight sessions of wins.

Utility companies RWE and SSE added 2.3 per cent and 2 per cent respectively. They were among the project developers to win guaranteed electricity price contracts in Britain’s latest offshore wind power auction, which secured a record capacity.

British education company Pearson dropped 9.5 per cent after its biggest division lost a contract with New Jersey. REUTERS