European stocks set to open higher as markets weigh tariffs and Trump comments

The London-listed specialty chemicals elephantine named Johnson Matthey named Andrew Cosslett arsenic its caller president pursuing a play of unit from an activistic investor.

Cosslett is presently seat of British broadcaster ITV and antecedently served arsenic the seat of DIY and location improvements radical Kingfisher.

It comes aft U.S.-based activistic capitalist Standard Investments halved its involvement in Johnson Matthey following a six-month run that forced the British specialty chemicals institution into a large overhaul.

The institution had announced successful February that outgoing chair Patrick Thomas, who was singled retired for disapproval by Standard, was acceptable to permission successful July.

Swiss pharmaceutical elephantine Novartis bushed nett expectations for the 2nd 4th and announced the commencement of a $10 cardinal stock buyback programme.

The company's nett income grew 26%, excluding changes successful currency fluctuations, to $4.02 cardinal for the 2nd 4th of 2025. Analysts had expected $3.72 billion, according to FactSet.

Novartis besides raised its full-year halfway operating income from the antecedently guided "low double-digit" to "low teens."

The institution announced plans to instrumentality $10 cardinal to investors done a stock buyback programme that is expected to beryllium completed by 2027.

"Our robust equilibrium expanse and assurance successful our mid and semipermanent maturation alteration america to initiate an up-to USD 10 cardinal stock buyback arsenic portion of our committedness to balanced superior allocation," said Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis.

The banal is up 7.2% year-to-date.

— Ganesh Rao

Good greeting from London, and invited to CNBC's unrecorded blog covering each the enactment and concern quality successful European fiscal markets connected Thursday.

Futures information from IG suggest a higher unfastened for European bourses, with London's FTSE 100 seen 0.4% higher, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX up 0.5%, and Italy's FTSE MIB 0.9% higher.

European markets person been connected tenterhooks since U.S. President Donald Trump announced past play that helium would enforce a 30% tariff connected goods imported from the EU starting Aug. 1. The EU has said it hopes to onslaught a commercialized woody earlier then.

Overnight, U.S. banal futures ticked little pursuing a winning time for U.S. markets aft Trump denied that helium was readying to occurrence Jerome Powell from his presumption arsenic Federal Reserve chairman.

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Thursday arsenic investors assessed the autumn in Japan's exports for the 2nd consecutive month.

— Holly Ellyatt