Europe close: Stocks rally as oil prices give up some gains

30th Apr 2026 15:28

(Sharecast News) - European stocks rallied on Thursday as oil prices retreated from earlier highs amid conflicting reports about US plans for the Strait of Hormuz blockade, while investors also digested eurozone GDP and inflation figures, central bank decisions and a busy day of corporate earnings.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 1.3% to 610.78.

Germany's DAX gained 1.33% to 24,272.32, France's CAC 40 added 0.53% to 8,114.84, and London's FTSE 100 advanced 1.62% to 10,378.82.

In commodities, Brent crude futures were last down 3.22% on ICE at $114.23 per barrel, and the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate declined 2.18% to $104.55.

"By the time London markets shut up shop for the day, the oil price had slipped back significantly from those four-year highs that greeted investors this morning," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

"Whilst $114 for a barrel of Brent crude is still uncomfortably high, it's another example of how volatile markets are at this time of global upheaval."

Brent had earlier jumped to $126 after Axios reported that the US military would brief president Donald Trump on potential action against Iran.

Prices later fell back after Reuters, citing a State Department cable, reported that Washington was pressing ahead with plans for an international coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "The FTSE 100 Is enjoying its best day in a month, rallying sharply as bargain-hunters pile into Rolls Royce following its numbers this morning.

"After a mixed start to the year, the aerospace giant seems to have found its footing, and has provided the foundation for a FTSE 100 rally that has left its European peers far behind.

"An easing of oil prices has certainly helped sentiment across equity markets, but this needs to turn into something more sustained in order to provide a more secure foundation for equity markets, and with the US contemplating fresh military action that may be difficult."

ECB, Bank of England both hold rates

In interest rate news, the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged, as expected, holding the deposit rate at 2%, the main refinancing rate at 2.15% and the marginal lending facility at 2.40%.

The ECB said incoming information had been broadly consistent with its previous inflation assessment, but warned that upside risks to inflation and downside risks to growth had intensified because of the Middle East war.

"The longer the war continues and the longer energy prices remain high, the stronger is the likely impact on broader inflation and the economy," it said.

Danske Bank said Christine Lagarde avoided firm guidance on the future rate path and that the ECB would have more information in June, adding that it continued to expect 25 basis point rate increases in both June and July.

"Inflation in the eurozone has shot up to 3% over the month as energy prices rise, prompting the European Central Bank to deliver a hawkish hold today - but with every indication that its next move will be to raise rates," Hewson noted.

The Bank of England also left interest rates on hold, with the Monetary Policy Committee voting eight-to-one to keep Bank Rate at 3.75%.

Chief economist Huw Pill voted for a rise to 4%, arguing that "a prompt but modest hike in Bank Rate will help mitigate risks to price stability".

The decision came after UK inflation rose to 3.3% in March, driven by higher petrol prices, and the MPC said global energy price prospects remained "highly uncertain".

The bank published three scenarios rather than its usual central forecast because of uncertainty surrounding the war.

Andrew Wishart, economist at Berenberg, said the UK's weaker labour market and fiscal consolidation suggested rate hikes were unnecessary and that the BoE would eventually resume cuts if the Strait of Hormuz reopened soon.

ING's James Smith said he was now "edging towards a hike in June" because energy prices were likely to stay elevated for longer the longer the strait remained closed.

James Flintoft, head of investment solutions at AJ Bell, said the vote confirmed that "the path of least resistance is towards tighter, not looser policy".

Euro area inflation hastens as economic growth slows

In economic news, eurozone inflation rose to its highest level in two and a half years in April, while growth slowed in the first quarter.

Eurostat said consumer price inflation increased to 3.0% from 2.6% in March, slightly ahead of expectations for 2.9%, as energy prices surged 10.9% year-on-year amid disruption to oil trade.

Core inflation eased to 2.2% from 2.3%.

Eurozone GDP meanwhile expanded by 0.1% in the first quarter, slowing from 0.2% in the fourth quarter, while annual growth eased to 0.8% from 1.2%, below expectations for 0.9% and the weakest expansion since the second quarter of 2024.

In Germany, data pointed to a slowdown.

The economy grew 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of the year, up from 0.2% in the fourth quarter, but annual growth eased to 0.3% from 0.4%.

Retail sales fell 2.0% month-on-month in March, far worse than forecasts for a 0.1% decline and the steepest drop since October 2022.

The unemployment rate held at 6.4%, its highest since July 2020, while the number of unemployed people rose by 20,000 and topped 3m for the first time since March 2011.

Magnum Ice Cream jumps on busy day for earnings

It was a busy day of earnings for equities across the continent, with Magnum Ice Cream Company jumping 11.45% after the Unilever spin-out reaffirmed its full-year guidance and reported 4.5% organic sales growth, supported by 2.9% volume growth and 1.6% pricing.

Reported revenue fell 1.2% to €1.77bn because of a 5.5% foreign exchange headwind.

Air France-KLM rose 3.8% despite cutting its 2026 capacity growth forecast to 2% to 4% from 3% to 5%, citing higher jet fuel costs linked to the Iran war.

The airline said first-quarter operating losses narrowed by €301m year-on-year to €27m, while revenue rose 4.4% to €7.5bn.

Puma gained 5.27% after confirming the replacement of its finance chief as part of its turnaround and posting above-forecast quarterly earnings.

Delivery Hero rose 7.08% after stronger-than-expected first-quarter growth, with gross merchandise value up 8.8% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis to €12.5bn and total segment revenue rising 17.8% to €3.7bn.

Rémy Cointreau added 0.76% after reporting a narrow organic sales improvement over the year to April, helped by improving cognac demand, while Unilever rose 1.96% after reconfirming its outlook following 3.8% underlying sales growth in the first quarter.

United Utilities surged 11.05% after unveiling plans to raise £800m through a share issue to help fund infrastructure investment.

Rolls-Royce gained 6.95% after holding guidance for £4.0bn to £4.2bn of underlying operating profit and £3.6bn to £3.8bn of free cash flow, with chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic saying the group expected to "fully mitigate the current financial impact of the disruption to our business".

Banks were weaker, with Crédit Agricole falling 3.66% after first-quarter profit rose less than expected as higher provisions and weaker investment banking revenues offset resilient retail banking and savings activity.

BNP Paribas declined 1.41% despite record quarterly net income of €3.22bn, as provisions for credit losses rose to €922m.

Société Générale lost 3.59% even though profits grew at a double-digit rate, with investors focusing on flat revenue growth.

Danske Bank slipped 0.64% after reporting first-quarter net profit of DKK 5.7bn, broadly in line with expectations.

Elsewhere, Stellantis dropped 6.36% in Milan despite beating first-quarter earnings forecasts, with adjusted operating profit rising to €960m from €327m a year earlier and the carmaker swinging to a net profit of €377m from a €387m loss.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.