European equities were little changed on Wednesday as gains in mining shares offset geopolitical concerns over the Middle East and a bond-market sell-off that weighed on technology stocks.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index held flat at 652.07 as of 0715 GMT, with basic resources leading sectoral advances at 0.6%. The gains reflected higher gold prices, which supported mining equities despite broader market caution.
Technology stocks lagged, falling 0.4% as rising bond yields pressured valuations. The sector’s underperformance was exacerbated by investor disappointment over revenue expectations, with several semiconductor-linked names declining sharply. Soitec led losses with a 4.4% drop, while Nordic Semiconductor and Scout24 fell between 2.1% and 2.3%.
Anthropic’s annual revenue run-rate reached $65 billion at the end of July, a figure that failed to meet some investor expectations and contributed to the broader retreat in tech shares.
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East added to market unease. U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Tuesday that no negotiations were underway with Iran and claimed the Strait of Hormuz remained open to shipping. Iran, however, asserted that the critical waterway remained closed, amplifying risks to regional stability and energy markets.
Investors also focused on upcoming U.S. economic data, with the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting expected to provide further insight into the outlook for interest rates. In the UK, annual consumer price inflation rose to 2.9% in July from a 15-month low of 2.6% in June, reinforcing expectations for cautious monetary policy from the Bank of England.
The mixed signals from commodities, equities, and macroeconomic data left European markets in a holding pattern ahead of key policy signals and geopolitical developments.
