Europe midday: Stoxx hits record on earnings, Iran war talks optimism

(Sharecast News) - European shares touched fresh intra-day highs on Thursday after a mixed Wall Street performance overnight, as investors weighed rising optimism about a US-Iran deal with poor jobs data.

The benchmark Stoxx 600 index was up 0.47% to 660 at 1155 BST. US stocks were mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow hitting another all-time high but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq erasing earlier gains to finish lower.

Iran and Oman reached an understanding on `the geographic coordinates for a shipping route through the strait of Hormuz, and `a joint announcement was being finalised, according to Iran's foreign ministry.

In economic news, German industrial orders rose in June driven by a surge in large scale orders and helped by a downwards revision to May's readout.

New orders increased 3.1% monthonmonth, seasonally and calendaradjusted, according to provisional figures from the Federal Statistical Office.

That followed a revised 0.3% rise in May from April compared with an initial reading of 1.9% with the adjustment attributed to price changes.

In equity news shares in ad agency WPP surged by a quarter after beating growth estimates, while Deutsche Telekom jumped after announcing an expanded buyback.

Renk rose 5.5% after the defence group reported a surge in secondquarter orders that topped analysts' expectations. By contrast, Rheinmetall slipped cutting its 2026 sales outlook.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals jumped as it posted a 9% rise in halfyear core operating profit and reaffirmed its fullyear guidance.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com