FX.co ★ European Shares Mostly Higher In Cautious Trade

European stocks saw gains predominantly on Thursday, driven by key events such as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's announcement of a general election on July 4 and positive data indicating an acceleration in eurozone business activity for May.

The HCOB Flash Eurozone Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), published by S&P Global, increased to 52.3 from 51.7 in April, marking its highest level in a year.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose by 0.2 percent to 522.11, rebounding from a 0.3 percent decline on Wednesday. The German DAX edged up by 0.1 percent, while France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 also saw slight gains.

Embracer shares plunged by 9.2 percent following the news that CFO and Deputy CEO Johan Ekström would step down for personal reasons after a five-year tenure. Similarly, Telenor ASA, a Norwegian telecoms company, declined by 1 percent due to the announcement that President & CEO Sigve Brekke will be stepping down on December 1.

Nvidia's shares surged by 6.4 percent in Frankfurt, spurred by record sales of artificial intelligence chips, which boosted the company's revenue by 262 percent in the last quarter. ASML NV and Infineon Technologies saw gains of 3.2 percent and around 1 percent, respectively. German ticketing firm CTS Eventim climbed 9.2 percent after its Q1 EBITDA exceeded forecasts.

Merck KGaA, a leading science and technology company, saw a marginal increase after announcing a $600 million acquisition deal with life sciences company Mirus Bio. Gerresheimer soared by 9.5 percent following the signing of a purchase agreement to acquire Blitz LuxCo Sarl.

In London, National Grid shares dropped by 9 percent after the electricity and gas utility announced plans to raise approximately £7 billion ($8.9 billion) through a fully underwritten rights issue of 1.09 billion new shares. Other declines in the sector included Drax, which was down by 8.7 percent, Pennon Group falling by nearly 7 percent, and United Utilities dropping by over 5 percent.

Conversely, Wizz Air Holdings surged by 5 percent as the low-cost airline returned to profitability in FY24. Hargreaves Lansdown jumped by 12 percent after the investment platform rejected an unexpected takeover offer from a group of private equity buyers. However, insurer Aviva fell by 1 percent despite strong first-quarter results.