Europe midday: Stoxx touches record as EZ, German data boosts sentiment

(Sharecast News) - The rally in European shares continued on Thursday as the Stoxx index touched a new record with Iran, Greenland and oil prices in focus, while positive eurozone and German data also boosted sentiment, and chipmakers were lifted by bumper quarterly results from Taiwan's TSMC.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 hit 614.34 in the morning session and was 0.33% higher at 613.60 at 1155 GMT. Continental bourses were mixed with Germany's DAX and the UK's FTSE both lower.

Oil prices slumped after US President Donald Trump toned down his aggressive language towards Iran's leaders over the killing of anti-regime protestors.

Trump, who had threatened "very strong action" against the Islamic regime overnight claimed he had been told that killings in the crackdown on nationwide, protests were subsiding and he believed there was currently no plan for large-scale executions.

Brent crude gave up gains and plunged 3.3% lower to $64.27 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate tumbled by the same amount to $59.92 as supply fears eased.

Meanwhile talks in Washington between officials from Greenland, Denmark, and the US on Wednesday ended with "fundamental disagreement" over the ownership of the territory according to a Danish official.

On the economics front, industrial production across the eurozone rose for the third straight month in November, data from Eurostat showed, while the region's trade surplus with the rest of the world fell more than expected.

Seasonally adjusted industrial production increased by 0.7% in November across the single-currency region, following a 0.7% rise in October, coming in ahead of the 0.5% expected by analysts.

The single-currency's trade balance shrank to �9.9bn in November, from �17.9bn in October, coming in well below the �15.2bn consensus forecast.

The seasonably-adjusted value of goods exported out of the region totalled �238.8bn, up 1.1% over the month, while imports rose 2.5% to �228.1bn.

In Germany, the Federal Statistics Office reported that GDP grew by 0.2% in the final quarter of last year and also increased by 0.2% over the full-year 2025 - the first annual growth since 2022, following contractions in the last two years.

Meanwhile, UK, GDP expanded by 0.3% in November, according to data from the Office for National Statistics shows, after shrinking a slightly in October. Economists had expected growth of just 0.1%.

In equity news chipmakers surged after the world's largest manufacturer TSMC posted a 35% jump in fourth-quarter net profit, beating forecasts.

ASM International, BE Semiconductor Industries and ASML Holdings all jumped on the news.

VAT Group surged after the Swiss vacuum valve maker's fourth quarter sales beat forecasts.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com