FX.co ★ European Stocks Cautious

European stocks were muted on Wednesday, with the STOXX 50 down 0.2% and the STOXX 600 hovering around the flatline. Sentiment was dragged lower by weakness in the technology sector as traders looked ahead to key earnings reports from Alphabet and Tesla later in the day. Investors also continued to monitor developments in the Middle East, rising oil prices, and the latest batch of corporate results. Among the notable laggards, ASML Holding fell 2%, SAP declined 1%, and STMicroelectronics slipped 0.8%. Santander shed 0.5% after its quarterly results failed to impress, even though the bank reported a 17% year-on-year increase in underlying net profit for the second quarter. In contrast, Airbus jumped more than 6% after announcing a €5 billion share buyback programme and raising its guidance.