Europe close: Stocks trim losses as euro slips
By Alexander Bueso
Date: Wednesday 24 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - European shares pared losses on Wednesday to end mixed, with analysts pointing to a softer euro as the catalyst for advances.
However, US dollar strength was in fact in response to a safe haven bid due to the possibility of a government shutdown in the US as soon as during the following week.
"Market veterans will regard the whole sorry prospect as an unnecessary drama, just with the roles reversed from the last time," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
"Predictions of market meltdown are likely to be wide of the mark however, such events being a wearisome but seemingly-permanent feature of modern US governance."
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.19% at 553.88, with the German Dax slipping by 0.23% to 23,665.81 but Spain's Ibex 35 up by 0.24% to 15,194.60.
Prompting selling early on during the session were comments from US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell who on Tuesday afternoon had stated that equities were overvalued.
Investor sentiment was also dented after a German Ifo survey showed business confidence in Germany unexpectedly fell in September, pulling back after hitting a 15-month high in August.
The Ifo's Business Climated Index declined to 87.7 this month, down 1.2 points from a revised 88.9 in August, which was the highest level recorded since May 2024.
This was the sharpest monthly fall in more than a year, coming in below the consensus forecast of 89.3.
Powell said that "equity prices are fairly highly valued" in a speech on Tuesday.
In equity news, US President Donald Trump appeared to u-turn on the Ukraine war and throw his support behind Ukraine overnight in its war against Russia, saying he believed the country could regain all the territory it has lost since the unprovoked 2022 invasion by its neighbour.
Trump also claimed on social media that Russia was in big economic trouble after meeting the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York.
"After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.
"With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, Nato, the original borders from where this war started, is very much an option. Why not?" Trump also added that Nato nations should shoot down any Russian planes that violate their airspace.
XTB research director Kathleen Brooks said Trump's comments could be seen as a signal that the US is not going to abandon Nato.
"Europe could only escalate the conflict with Russia if the US was there for support. Thus, we could also see European bonds rally at the open, especially German debt, as it may ease the need for rapid defense spending on the continent," she said.
The US leader's remarks provided a lift for defence stocks, with BAE Systems, Thales, Leonardo, Saab, Qinetiq, Hensoldt and Renk all higher.
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