Europe midday: Shares pare gains after Stoxx hits record high
3rd Feb 2026 11:34
(Sharecast News) - European stocks pared gains at midday after hitting record highs on Tuesday as metals prices rebounded from a sell-off in the previous two sessions.
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 climbed 0.14% to 618 at1158 GMT, having hit a record 622.66 at the open driven by mining stocks.
Britain's UK FTSE 100 also powered to a new record but had slipped into the red by the end of morning trade, while Germany's DAX gained 0.47%. Gold rebounded from a sharp fall on Monday, with the precious metal up 3% to $4,917 an ounce, while silver gained 3.75% to $86.39.
"A sense of calm descended after the precious metal ructions, opening the door for investors to buy on the dip," said Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor.
"The technical and sentiment driven declines found a floor, which drove a return to a risk-on approach. After all, despite the dip in the gold price, the commodity remains up by 14% this year and by 87% over the last 12 months, which suggests a healthy correction was overdue without necessarily indicating a fundamental change."
Oil prices rose with Brent crude up 0.15% to $66.40 and West Texas intermediate 0.23% higher at $62.28.
In equity news, mining stocks rallied with gold and metal producers Endeavour and Fresnillo both higher. Copper producers Antofagasta and Anglo American also rose.
Advertising giant Publicis fell despite reporting stronger‑than‑expected full-year underlying revenues on Tuesday, buoyed by a run of major client wins as it continued to outpace rivals including WPP.
Demant slumped as the Danish hearing aid maker's 2026 forecasts overshadowed a fourth-quarter earnings beat.
Plus500 was up after saying it has entered the US retail prediction markets segments through the launch of event-based contracts on its US B2C trading platform. The new offering includes products from Kalshi Exchange, the first regulated event-based contracts exchange in the US.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com