Europe midday: Shares extend gains, but leisure sector under pressure
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Thursday 04 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - European stocks extended gains at midday on Thursday, as traders eyed the latest legal moves on US President Donald Trump's tariffs while airline and holiday stocks were under pressure as UK budget carrier Jet2 warned on profits.
The Stoxx 600 index was up 0.49% at 549.48 as of 1147 BST. Germany's DAX gained 0.64% while France's CAC 40 fell by 0.23% as worries persisted ahead of a vote of no confidence in the government over its budget plans.
Trump on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to quickly accept and rule on an appeal seeking to overturn a federal appeals court ruling last week that deemed most of the tariffs illegal.
On the economics front, the ADP private payrolls report is due with forecasts for private employers to have added 75,000 jobs in August, down from 104,000 jobs in July.
"There is a sense of calm in European and US markets. The recovery in global bond yields on Wednesday has helped sentiment, the gold price is lower by $30," said XTB research director Kathleen Brooks.
"There are signs that the bond market rout could be over. Global government bond sales have been strong this week and have not been impacted by bond market volatility. Added to this, some governments including the UK's are talking once more about public sector spending cuts, which may boost demand for gilts in the short term."
"Risks are still looming for the bond market, for example, Monday's confidence vote in the French government. If the government collapses, then French bonds will be in the spotlight. Ahead today, there is a massive $11bn auction of French government debt. We will be watching this closely to gauge demand and to see if political turmoil impacts demand."
In regional economic news, the eurozone's construction sector remained under pressure this summer, a closely-watched survey showed on Thursday, although the pace of decline softened.
August's HCOB Eurozone construction PMI total activity index came in at 46.7, still below the neutral 50.0 benchmark but up on July's 44.7. A reading above 50 indicates growth while one below it suggests contraction.
Respondents noted that new orders had fallen at a softer rate. However, the decline remained sharp, weighing on both employment and purchasing.
On the equities front, airline stocks were lower after UK budget airline Jet2 forecast full-year operating profit towards the lower end of expectations. EasyJet, Ryanair, TUI and IAG were all down on the news.
Shares in Sanofi slumped as the pharma giant's new eczema drug disappointed in trials.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
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