European shares hit near five-month high on upbeat earnings season
The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX), opens new tab rose 0.2%, as of 0717 GMT, driven by miners (.SXPP), opens new tab and chemical stocks (.SX4P), opens new tab.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet later in the day in Alaska, with the U.S. hoping to seal a ceasfire agreement on Ukraine as well as negotiate a possible nuclear deal.
Globally, stocks rose despite a spike in U.S. producer price data reining in expectations of a 50 basis point rate cut from the Federal Reserve next month and weak Chinese economic data pointing to tariff-related impacts.
NKT (NKT.CO), opens new tab jumped 9.1% after the Danish power cable solutions provider updated its full-year financial outlook.
ASML (ASML.AS), opens new tab fell 1.5%, with the world's biggest supplier of computer chip-making equipment coming under pressure after U.S. peer Applied Materials (AMAT.O), opens new tab lowered its fourth-quarter earning forecasts on weak demand in China and tariff-uncertainty related impacts.
The Dutch firm had issued a similar warning in mid-July, saying it might not achieve 2026 growth. Chip stocks BE Semiconductor (BESI.AS), opens new tab and ASMI (ASMI.AS), opens new tab dropped 0.7% and 1.1%, respectively.
Pandora (PNDORA.CO), opens new tab was the top laggard on STOXX 600, falling 11.9%, after the Danish jewellery maker's second-quarter organic revenue missed estimates.
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Reuters
28 minutes ago
- Reuters
'No deal until there's a deal': Trump-Putin talks yield no breakthrough on Ukraine
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A highly anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday yielded no agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine, though both leaders described the talks as productive. During a brief appearance before the media following the nearly three-hour meeting in Alaska, the two leaders said they had made progress on unspecified issues. But they offered no details and took no questions, with the normally loquacious Trump ignoring shouted questions from reporters. "We've made some headway," Trump said, standing in front of a backdrop that read, "Pursuing Peace." "There's no deal until there's a deal," he added. The talks did not initially appear to have produced meaningful steps toward a ceasefire in the deadliest conflict in Europe in 80 years, a goal Trump had set ahead of the summit. But simply sitting down face-to-face with the U.S. president represented a victory for Putin, who had been ostracized by Western leaders since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Following the summit, Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity that he would hold off on imposing tariffs on China for buying Russian oil after making progress with Putin. He has targeted India, another major buyer of Russian crude, with an additional 25% tariff on U.S. imports. "Because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that now," Trump said of Chinese tariffs. "I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now." Trump has also threatened sanctions on Moscow but has thus far not followed through, even after Putin ignored a Trump-imposed ceasefire deadline earlier this month. In the Fox News interview, Trump also suggested a meeting would now be set up between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which he might also attend. He gave no further details on who was organizing the meeting or when it might be. Putin made no mention of meeting Zelenskiy when speaking to reporters earlier. He said he expected Ukraine and its European allies to accept the results of the U.S.-Russia negotiation constructively and not try to "disrupt the emerging progress." He also repeated Moscow's long-held position that what Russia claims to be the "root causes" of the conflict must be eliminated to reach a long-term peace, a sign he remains resistant to a ceasefire. There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to the summit, the first meeting between Putin and a U.S. president since the war began. When asked by Hannity what he would advise Zelenskiy, Trump said, "Gotta make a deal." "Look, Russia is a very big power, and they're not," Trump added. The war has killed or injured well over a million people from both sides, including thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians, according to analysts. Zelenskiy has ruled out formally handing Moscow any territory and is also seeking a security guarantee backed by the United States. Trump said he would call Zelenskiy and NATO leaders to update them on the Alaska talks. As the two leaders were talking, the war raged on, with most eastern Ukrainian regions under air raid alerts. Governors of Russia's Rostov and Bryansk regions reported that some of their territories were under Ukrainian drone attacks. Ukraine's opposition lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko said on the Telegram messaging app, "It seems Putin has bought himself more time. No ceasefire or de-escalation has been agreed upon." The anticlimactic end to the closely watched summit was in stark contrast to the pomp and circumstance with which it began. When Putin arrived at an Air Force base in Alaska, a red carpet awaited him, where Trump greeted Putin warmly as U.S. military aircraft flew overhead. Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court, accused of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia denies the allegations, and the Kremlin has dismissed the ICC warrant as null and void. Russia and the United States are not members of the court. The day before the summit, Putin held out the prospect of something Trump wants - a new nuclear arms control agreement to replace the last surviving one, which is due to expire in February. It was unclear if the issue was discussed on Friday. Zelenskiy, who was not invited to Alaska, and his European allies had feared Trump might sell out Ukraine by essentially freezing the conflict and recognizing - if only informally - Russian control over one-fifth of Ukraine. Trump had sought to assuage such concerns on Friday ahead of the talks, saying he would let Ukraine decide on any possible territorial concessions. "I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine, I'm here to get them at a table," he said. Asked what would make the meeting a success, he told reporters: "I want to see a ceasefire rapidly ... I'm not going to be happy if it's not today ... I want the killing to stop." The meeting also included U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Trump's special envoy to Russia, Steve Witkoff; Russian foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov; and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Trump, who said during his presidential campaign that he would end the Ukraine war within 24 hours, conceded on Thursday it had proven a tougher task than he had expected. He had said if Friday's talks went well, quickly arranging a second, three-way summit with Zelenskiy would be more important than his encounter with Putin. Trump ended his remarks on Friday by telling Putin, "I'd like to thank you very much, and we'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon." "Next time in Moscow," Putin responded. Trump said he might "get a little heat on that one" but that he could "possibly see it happening." Zelenskiy said ahead of Friday's summit that the meeting should open the way for a "just peace" and three-way talks that included him, but added that Russia was continuing to wage war. "It's time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.
Finextra
40 minutes ago
- Finextra
Deluxe buys CheckMatch from Kinexys
Deluxe (NYSE: DLX), a trusted Payments and Data company, today announced it has completed the acquisition of CheckMatch from Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, the firm's industry-leading blockchain business unit. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. Consistent with the company's strategy, this acquisition will expand the Deluxe Payment Network (DPN) solution. CheckMatch is a service that digitizes the delivery of paper checks, enabling faster electronic conveyance, which was developed by Kinexys by J.P. Morgan. The DPN solution digitally connects physical lockboxes across the Deluxe network, which helps to more efficiently process payments made to thousands of businesses across the U.S. By adding CheckMatch to the platform, Deluxe further extends the company's Payments scale, enabling potential revenue and cost synergies. 'In alignment with our strategy to expand in Payments and Data, this acquisition marks a continued investment across our B2B payments portfolio,' said Barry McCarthy, President and CEO of Deluxe. 'By bringing together the strengths of CheckMatch and DPN, we are building the largest purpose-built digital lockbox network in the market—delivering value through scale, security, and simplicity in competition with traditional offerings.' Deluxe has already more than doubled the number of lockboxes accessible through DPN in the first half of 2025. Once integration of CheckMatch is completed—the combined platform is expected to include five of the top 10 U.S.-based lockbox providers and multiple leading disbursement partners, including financial institutions, AP automation platforms, and a major medical payments provider. "We are thrilled to see CheckMatch become an integral part of a larger vision that embodies our shared commitment of bringing next-gen innovation to the world of finance and delivering exceptional value for our clients," said Umar Farooq, Global Co-Head of J.P. Morgan Payments. "We are confident that Deluxe is well-positioned to elevate CheckMatch to the next level and will ensure a seamless transition." Check payments remain a critical component of the B2B payments ecosystem, particularly for large enterprises, financial institutions, and disbursement partners. This expanded inter-lockbox network delivers meaningful cost savings by eliminating postage, envelopes, labor, handling, and physical check costs for payors—including major bill pay platforms and financial institutions. For payees, the process remains virtually unchanged. Payments follow the same well-established lockbox protocols, but are now delivered digitally—streamlining operations without disrupting treasury workflows. By digitizing the delivery of check payments, the network simplifies reconciliation, improves reliability, and helps treasurers manage payments with greater speed and confidence. As the network scales, participants will benefit from increased efficiency and growing value through shared infrastructure and reach. A division of J.P. Morgan Payments, Kinexys by J.P. Morgan has exceeded $2 trillion in notional value1 to date, processing on average $3 billion daily in transaction volume2. Payment transactions on the platform have grown by 10x year-over-year3, with clients now spanning five continents. The business is transforming how information, money and assets move around the world, helping clients harness the speed and efficiency enabled by blockchain technology.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Trump says no imminent plans to penalize China for buying Russian oil
WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to "in two or three weeks." Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil. The president last week imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing its continued imports of Russian oil. However, Trump has not taken similar action against China. He was asked by Fox News' Sean Hannity if he was now considering such action against Beijing after he and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce an agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine. "Well, because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that," Trump said after his summit with Putin in Alaska. "Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think, you know, the meeting went very well." Chinese President Xi Jinping's slowing economy will suffer if Trump follows through on a promise to ramp up Russia-related sanctions and tariffs. Xi and Trump are working on a trade deal that could lower tensions - and import taxes - between the world's two biggest economies. But China could be the biggest remaining target, outside of Russia, if Trump ramps up punitive measures.
