Europe midday: Corporate earnings give Stoxx a lift; Schroders in focus

(Sharecast News) - European shares were off morning record highs at midday on Thursday amid another flurry of corporate earnings, with a £9.9bn takeover of Schroders by US investment manager Nuveen boosting sentiment. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index had gained 0.36% to 623.86 by 0826, having touched 625.9 in early deals. France's CAC 40 also hit a new high of 8,437, while Germany's DAX jumped 1.28% and Italy's MIB was up by 0.3%.

"German stocks lead the way in Europe this morning, with mainland indices enjoying a fresh surge of buying pressure as traders continue to rotate into global equities off the back of a somewhat downbeat US close. However, the strength seen in Europe also comes from improved earnings data from some of the big hitters," said Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.

In equity news, Schroders shares jumped by a third after Nuveen - which is part of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America - offered 612p per share.

The price includes 590p a share in cash, a 29% premium to the closing share price on Wednesday and permitted dividends of up to 22p per share.

Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxotica and Hermes were both in the green after results while Dutch payments processor Adyen slumped on weaker than expected transaction volumes and cautious guidance despite revenue growing by more than a fifth in the second half of 2025.

Shares in Embracer surged as the Swedish video games group reported a quarterly operating profit above analysts' estimates.

Siemens surged 6% after the company raised its profit outlook and highlighted growth opportunities within the industrial AI sector.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com