15th Apr 2026 08:57
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in Europe opened mixed on Wednesday, with peace hope keeping sentiment positive, though luxury worries hit blue-chips in Paris.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 17.78 points, 0.2%, at 10,626.84. The FTSE 250 was up 47.55 points, 0.2%, at 22,771.84, and the AIM all-share was up 5.50 points, 0.7%, at 796.07.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 1,060.07, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 19,831.48, and the Cboe small companies was flat at 17,804.35.
In Paris, the CAC 40 declined 0.6%, while the DAX 40 was flat.
"In the span of a single week, the market has flipped from forced selling to forced buying, a complete inversion of flow," SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes commented.
"The market is not waiting for peace. It is trading the shape of peace before the ink is dry, front-running the outcome like a seasoned operator who has seen this script before and knows the final act arrives long after the trade is already crowded."
US Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday that the ceasefire between the US and Iran was holding and that President Donald Trump wanted not just a "small deal" with Tehran, but "the grand bargain."
"Right now the ceasefire is holding," the Republican said at an event in Athens in the state of Georgia.
Vance said talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan last weekend made "a ton of progress."
Trump said he believes the war in Iran is nearing an end, according to excerpts of an interview with Fox News released in advance.
In Tokyo on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended flat, while the Hang Seng Index traded up 0.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney rose 0.1%.
Against the dollar, sterling was largely unchanged at USD1.3562 early Wednesday, from USD1.3571 late Tuesday. Versus the euro, it edged up to EUR1.1508 from EUR1.1503.
Against the dollar, the single currency was down at USD1.1787 from USD1.1799. Versus the yen, the buck rose to JPY158.89 from JPY158.79.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury narrowed to 4.25% early Wednesday from 4.28% at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The 30-year yield eased to 4.86% from 4.88%.
A barrel of Brent fell to USD95.04 on Wednesday from USD96.28 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. Gold traded at USD4,812.01 an ounce, up from USD4,806.75.
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.7%, the S&P 500 up 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite up 2.0%. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley release results before the open bell in New York, drawing the banking earnings season to a close.
In Europe, luxury stocks and ASML were in focus. ASML, Europe's largest firm by market value, rose 0.2% as it raised its outlook.
In Paris, Hermes slumped 12% and Kering shed 8.8%. Hermes reported weaker than expected first quarter sales, hurt by the Middle East conflict. Kering said the Middle East war "an area of heightened attention" for the company, as it posted weaker first-quarter revenue.
LVMH fell 2.1% in a negative read across. Burberry shed 3.3% in London.
On the up in London, miner Antofagasta added 2.6%, lifted by peace optimism. It also affirmed annual guidance, but reported a fall in first quarter output.
Housebuilder Barratt Redrow climbed 1.6% said it has a "solid" third quarter to March 29. It said profit and volumes for the full year will be in line with consensus.
Standard Life rose 1.2% as it unveiled a GBP2.0 billion cash and shares deal to acquire Aegon's UK insurance and pensions operations.
Aegon will become a "new strategic shareholder and asset management partner", Standard Life said, with just over a 15% stake. T
The insurance, savings and retirement products firm, formerly called Phoenix Group Holdings, will pay GBP750 million in cash. That portion will be funded by a GBP650 million debt issuance and existing cash resources. It will issue 181.1 million shares to Aegon. "
Over in Amsterdam, Aegon fell 0.4%.
Elsewhere in London, Saga jumped 10%. It reported a swing to an annual profit, "underpinned by the performance of the Travel and Insurance businesses".
The provider of products and services for people over 50 says pretax profit in the year to January 31 amounted to GBP2.1 million, swinging from a loss of GBP160.2 million a year prior. Revenue was 12% higher at GBP660.0 million from GBP588.3 million.
Recruiter Robert Walters added 2.3%. It said its first quarter was in line with expectations, with its largest market Japan returning to growth.
Net fees declined 2% on-year at constant currency in the first quarter.
"Trading for the first quarter was in-line with the board's expectations. It was encouraging that the momentum we saw in the second half of last year in certain specialist recruitment markets, such as the UK, Spain and New Zealand, continued into the early months of 2026. Furthermore, Japan, the group's largest market, also returned to growth after a tough last quarter. That said, market conditions in northern Europe remained challenging overall. Elsewhere in the group, we were encouraged to see our recruitment outsourcing business return to growth for the first time since late 2022," Chief Executive Officer Toby Fowlston said.
"Whilst the hiring market impact of the Middle East conflict appears to remain, at this point, limited to the region itself, we remain mindful of the potential downstream macroeconomic impact in other markets should tensions be protracted, and our guidance for 2026 group net fees remains unchanged."
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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