European stocks were mixed on Thursday, holding the losses from the previous session as markets continued to assess the fiscal and monetary policy outlook for the EU’s largest economies.
The STOXX 50 inched 0.2% lower to 5,244, while the pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.1% to 538.
Defense companies extended yesterday’s gains as investors continued to gauge their increase in return after NATO countries agreed to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.
BAE Systems, Rheinmetall, Leonardo, Thales, and Airbus soared between 7% and 2.7%.
In the meantime, miners traded in London and Switzerland advanced amid the strong session for base and ferrous metals, with Rio Tinto, Glencore, and Anglo American advancing around 5% each.
In turn, tech closed lower after ASML was downgraded by analysts, pressuring its shares to a 2.5% loss.
On the data front, the Germany’s GfK Consumer Climate Indicator edged down slightly in July.