European shares traded largely unchanged on Wednesday as investors remained cautious over Middle East tensions. Gains in mining and basic resources stocks helped limit losses, while markets also awaited the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s July meeting.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat at 652.07 as of 0715 GMT.
Mining Stocks Gain as Gold Prices Rise
Basic resources stocks advanced around 0.6%, supported by stronger gold prices.
Investors continued to seek clues about the future direction of U.S. monetary policy ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting minutes. Any signals about the outlook for interest rates could influence both equity and commodity markets.
Higher gold prices provided additional support to European mining companies, helping offset weakness elsewhere in the market.
Technology Stocks Lead European Market Losses
Technology shares were among the weakest performers, falling around 0.4%.
The decline followed a sell-off in bonds that pushed yields higher, creating additional pressure on growth-oriented technology stocks.
Investor sentiment was also affected by reports that Anthropic’s annual revenue run-rate reached $65 billion at the end of July. Despite the strong figure, it fell short of some elevated market expectations and contributed to selling pressure across semiconductor stocks.
Among individual companies, Soitec dropped 4.4%, making it one of the session’s biggest losers.
Nordic Semiconductor and Scout24 also declined, falling between 2.1% and 2.3%.
Middle East Tensions Keep Investors Cautious
Geopolitical developments in the Middle East continued to weigh on European market sentiment.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that no talks were currently taking place with Iran. He also maintained that the Strait of Hormuz remained open, contradicting Iranian claims that the strategically important shipping route was still closed.
The Strait of Hormuz remains closely watched by global financial markets because of its importance to international oil and energy flows.
UK Inflation Accelerates to 2.9%
Elsewhere in Europe, investors were also assessing new inflation figures from the United Kingdom.
UK annual consumer price inflation increased to 2.9% in July, up from 2.6% in June, which had marked a 15-month low.
The stronger inflation reading could influence expectations surrounding future interest rate decisions and add another factor for investors to consider across European markets.
European Markets Await Fed Policy Signals
European stocks remain caught between stronger commodity-related sectors and continued concerns surrounding geopolitics, inflation and interest rates.
Attention is now turning to the Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes, which could provide further insight into the outlook for U.S. monetary policy and global financial markets.
