![[CNBC] European markets head for negative open, shrugging off China-U.S. trade talks progress](https://media.nbhiladelphia.com/2025/06/105664985-1546931303504gettyimages-1071170402.jpeg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=320%2C180)
This was CNBC's live blog covering European markets. 541u1g
European stocks close lower but UK's FTSE 100 notches record high 5n6s6g
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Europe's regional FTSE 100 bucked the trend by gaining 0.13% to 8,864.35 points — its highest-ever close.
London's gains were ed by housebuilders for a second day running, with confirmed in the government's Spending Review on Wednesday, along with raised expectations for lower interest rates this year after looser labor market data on Tuesday.
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On the international scene, focus remains on U.S.-China trade talks which took place in London this week. An agreement was struck by representatives from the world's largest economies on Tuesday, but concrete details have been in short supply on Wednesday with the final yet to be signed off by President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday formed part of the deal.
CNBC has been reporting from the Viva Technology conference in Paris, where Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he was growing more bullish about the potential of quantum computing, boosting stocks in the sector.
Money Report 3a162r
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Trump approves U.S. Steel merger with Japan's Nippon after companies sign national security agreement 3q6g2h
CNBC's Karen Tso spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron at the event, who said of U.S.-China progress that anything that helped "stabilize the world and go to zero-to-zero tariffs will be a good thing."
"I'm sure that at the end of the day we will find a good solution," Macron said of the European Union's own ongoing negotiations with Washington.
That's all from us today. On Thursday, catch more coverage of Viva Tech, along with an analysis of U.K. economic growth figures and U.S. jobs and inflation data.
— Jenni Reid
U.S. inflation slightly cooler than expected 2v2p6y
Also drawing attention in global markets is U.S. inflation data, which came in narrowly below expectations for May and suggested any impact from tariffs did not land that month.
The consumer price index rose 0.1% month-on-month and 2.4% annually. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had forecast rates of 0.2% and 2.4%, respectively. In April, those figures were 0.2% and 2.3%.
— Jenni Reid
Trump says China will supply rare earths in ‘done’ deal 3u2j54
U.S. President Donald Trump has said China will supply rare earths upfront to the U.S. as part of a trade agreement.
The relationship between the world's two largest economies is "excellent," Trump said in a post on Truth Social at 1:04 p.m. in London.
"WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%" Trump also said.
The agreement is subject to final approval with himself and China President Xi Jinping, he added.
See all of the latest updates here.
British assets steady after UK government's budget review 4p1757
The British pound, the U.K. government bond market and equities remain muted after Finance Minister Rachel Reeves' budget spending review.
FTSE 250 was higher by 0.2%.
10-year gilt yields rose by 6 basis points to 4.6%. Bond prices move inversely to yields.
The Spending Review typically clarifies how billions of pounds' worth of public money is split between departments and infrastructure projects. Announcements on additional spending, taxing or borrowing are usually reserved for the Budget in the fall.
— Ganesh Rao
EU 'politically not ready' to strike a trade deal with the U.S., top German business leader says 3i6z3k
The European Union does not appear to be politically ready to reach a trade deal with the U.S., according to Joe Kaeser, chairman of the supervisory board at German energy transition giant Siemens Energy.
"If you look at this European Union, I believe it is politically not ready to strike this type of deal," Kaeser told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Wednesday.
"I believe they need a reset and a restructuring to get ready for a political union, which I believe is relevant," he added.
His comments come as European Union and U.S. trade officials work to reach a deal ahead of a July 9 deadline. U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to impose a 50% tariff on imports from the EU effective from June 1, before softening his stance to allow for further talks.
A spokesperson for the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, was not immediately available to respond to a request for comment.
— Sam Meredith
Trump welcomes federal appeals court's tariff decision 4e3x2b
U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social a few moments ago, "A Federal Appeals Court has just ruled that the United States can use TARIFFS to protect itself against other countries. A great and important win for the U.S."
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., announced Tuesday that Trump's wide-ranging tariffs on most U.S. trading partners can remain in effect while it reviews a lower court decision blocking them. His tariff policy has become legally contentious on the grounds that they exceed presidential authority.
— Jenni Reid
Quantum computing stocks rise after Nividia CEO's comments 4f4g71
Shares of companies involved in quantum computing rose in pre-market trading after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang turned more bullish on the sector.
Read more about that story here.
Shares of D-Wave Quantum are higher by 3.8% and 2.4%.
— Ganesh Rao
Nvidia CEO: Quantum computing is reaching an ‘inflection point’ 2r2r6y
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is growing more bullish about quantum computing — and he expects they'll start solving real-world problems in the coming years.
Read more about the story here.
"We are within reach of being able to apply quantum computing in areas that can solve some interesting problems in the coming years," Huang told the conference.
— Ganesh Rao
Reminder: Here's what we know so far on the progress of U.S.-China trade talks i4f4q
If you missed Evelyn Cheng's piece from late last night, the latest update from U.S.-China trade talks in London is that an agreement has been reached and is now pending approval from country leaders.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters that Chinese restrictions on rare-earth exports to the U.S. — critical to many industries — are a "fundamental part" of the agreement.
European stock markets were maintaining cautious gains at 10:18 a.m. U.K. time, with 's FTSE 100 up 0.15%.
— Jenni Reid
UniCredit's Orcel: Commerzbank does not present value for our shareholders at this price 4c4i5d
Speaking to CNBC this morning, Commerzbank is currently too prohibitively expensive for a merger deal.
"At this [share] level, we would not see value for our investors. Actually, we would not, we are very happy for the gain we've had on the 30[% stake], but we wouldn't see value for our investors," he told CNBC's Annette Weisbach.
UniCredit has built a surprise stake in Commerzbank of 28% since September through derivatives and has the European Central Bank's authorization to hold up to 29.9% in the lender.
Commerzbank shares were 0.65% lower at 9:57 a.m. in London, with UniCredit up 0.6%.
Read Ruxandra Iordache's story here.
Defense stocks reverse course after sell-off 606d5f
Regional defense stocks are in positive territory this morning, with the Stoxx Europe Aerospace and Defense index last seen trading 0.4% higher.
Stocks in the sector sold off on Tuesday, with the index shedding 3% as investors awaited news from high stakes U.S.-China trade talks in London. At the center of the talks were Chinese export controls over rare earth minerals, which are critical in the manufacturing of defense technologies.
Following a second day of negotiations, it was announced that Washington and Beijing's representatives had reached an agreement, which would be put before their respective presidents for approval.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters that Chinese restrictions on rare earths were "fundamental" to the agreement.
Winners in the European defense sector on Wednesday are 's Dassault Aviation, up 1.3%.
Having pared some of the gains seen in the wake of a European commitment to ramp up defense spending, the regional Aerospace and Defense index is now up by around 45% since the beginning of the year.
— Chloe Taylor
European stocks see muted open 5z633z
We're 30 minutes into Wednesday's trading session, and regional stocks are in mixed territory.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was last seen trading flat, with no cohesive movement among individual sectors.
Looking at major bourses, the French DAX index was little changed.
— Chloe Taylor
Elon Musk says he regrets some social media posts he made about Trump 4b143r
Tech billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday said he regretted some of the social media posts he made last week during an explosive public dispute with his formerly close ally, U.S. President Donald Trump.
Read more on this breaking news story here.
Zara owner Inditex flags slowing summer sales as quarterly revenues miss expectations 5p3q5n
Zara owner weaker-than-expected quarterly sales while flagging a slower start to the summer season than last year amid broader economic uncertainty.
The Spanish retailer reported revenues of 8.27 billion euros ($9.44 billion) in the fiscal first quarter covering Feb. 1 to April 30, slightly shy of the 8.39 billion euros forecast by LSEG analysts.
Net income came in at 1.3 billion euros for the quarter, compared to the 1.32 billion euros analysts estimated.
— Karen Gilchrist
U.S.-China trade agreement: What you need to know 2x515g
The U.S. and China have reached an agreement on trade, representatives from both sides said after a second day of high-level talks in London, with the deal now awaiting a nod from the leaders of the two countries.
"We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus and the call between the two presidents," U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters.
Chinese restrictions on rare-earth exports to the U.S. are a "fundamental part" of the latest agreement and the U.S. expects the issue "will be resolved in this framework implementation," Lutnick said.
He indicated U.S. restrictions on sales of advanced tech to China in recent weeks would be rolled back as Beijing approves rare-earth exports.
— Evelyn Cheng
Here are the opening calls 4zc6s
Good morning from London, welcome to CNBC's live blog covering European financial market action as well as the latest regional and global business news, data and earnings.
Futures data from IG suggests London's FTSE MIB 95 points lower at 40,082.
Global markets are having a mixed reaction to news that U.S. and Chinese officials reached a tentative consensus on trade after a second day of talks in London. The negotiators will now seek approval on the framework from the U.S. and Chinese presidents.
U.S. stock futures inched lower, with investors also looking ahead to May inflation data.
— Holly Ellyatt
What to keep an eye on today 21f5y
Global markets will be keeping a close eye on the latest U.S. inflation report for May.
Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a 0.2% month-over-month increase, while the headline consumer price index is anticipated to have grown 2.4% on an annual basis. Hotter-than-expected data could spook investors who are already on edge over inflationary pressures and the trajectory of Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Traders will be keeping an eye on the Nvidia keynote address at the VivaTech conference in Paris on Wednesday, as well as Goldman Sachs' annual European Financials Conference.
Meanwhile, U.K. investors will be looking out for the government's "Spending Review," in which it sets out day-to-day spending and investment plans for all government departments.
Earnings are set to come from retail giant Inditex.
— Holly Ellyatt
