European stocks rise; SAP shares jump 10% after first-quarter profit jump amid economic uncertainty – CNBC

Europe has great potential to create capital markets, but this could be very competitive, Marialis Albuquerque, a Financial Services Commissioner and the Savings Investment Union, told CNBC.

“The chances that we actually have a deep, efficient, liquid capital market in Europe are enormous, and we are probably very competitive worldwide,” Albuquerque told CNBC’s Carolyn Ross about the bystanders of the IMF World Bank spring meeting.

Albuquerque also discussed barriers to savings from being led by the economy in Europe.

“There are a lot of barriers,” Albuquerque said. “We have economic barriers, we have legal barriers. We have some interest in certain… Member States. We are sometimes protectionist and tend to have legitimate concerns, but are not compatible with actually creating a single market.”

“The benefits of not being able to lower or even destroy all these barriers is immeasurable,” Albuquerque said.

She added that although there was a lot of savings in Europe, many of them were “just sitting down” and leading them towards the economy would be beneficial to all aspects.

One way to encourage this is through incentives, Albuquerque said.

“Because European savings probably don’t have the right opportunities or the right incentives,” she continued.

“So creating those incentives for retail investors. It’s obviously working on financial literacy, being able to get information from people, make better informed decisions, and building better financial futures for themselves.”

– Sophie Kidelin

Christoph Boschan, CEO of Wiener Boerse AG (Vienna & Prague Stock Exchange), discusses European markets and tariffs.

Heathrow Airport said Wednesday that revenues rose in the three months leading up to March.

The privately owned company said its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was £454 million ($644 million) in the first quarter of 2025, up 2.5% year-on-year. Meanwhile, revenue was £825 million for the quarter, despite a 1.6% decline in passenger numbers from the first quarter, which increased 2.1%.

In late March, Heathrow (the busiest airport in Europe) closed for almost 24 hours after a fire at a nearby electrical substation, supplying power to the hub. A shutdown in which hundreds of flights are cancelled or repurposed is It is widely expected I have it Airlines are millions of dollars.

In a trading update on Wednesday, Heathrow said two separate probes are expected to report their first findings in May.

The company did not disclose on Wednesday if it was due to any of the decline in passenger traffic in the same period last year due to airport closures last month. We noted that the second half of Easter this year means that traffic will be recorded in the second quarter this year through busy holidays.

Heathrow confirmed the year-round guidance it set up Mid Decemberfull year revenue was £3.6 billion, if you adjust your EBITDA of £1.95 billion in 2025. These figures represent a 2% year-on-year revenue growth rate and a 0.6% contraction in annual adjusted EBITDA.

It also confirmed that shareholders received their first payment in six months.

“On March 7, 2024, strong operational and financial performance resulted in FGP Topco’s £250 million payments being made with final shareholders, marking its first dividend payment in five years,” he said in a transaction update on Wednesday.

2024, Heathrow It has been reported We recorded passenger numbers, but revenues fell by 4% thanks to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority Lower the cap For the amount of Heathrow you can charge the airline to use the airport about 6%.

Heathrow is owned by a consortium known as FGP Topco. It consists of a variety of shareholders, including private equity firm Ardian, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Chinese state-backed China Investment Corporation, and the retirement pension plan at the UK Pension Fund Manager University.

– Chloe Taylor

SAP’s 60% year-on-year profit jump for the first quarter of 2025 is a “Master Class of Resilience.”

German lender analysts say they hope SAP will be exposed to a recession that could potentially hit the global economy, and touted that “strong cost discipline and further cost lever management will retain if further macro degradation occurs that allows profitability to be protected.”

“Overall, this is a strong set of results in light of the warnings beginning to come true in the tech sector and the SAP share is -22% from the peak, indicating the resilience and defensiveness of SAP’s revenue trajectory.”

Analysts at TD Cowen repeated positive sentiment.

“We continue to maintain SAP’s capabilities to overcome choppy macro conditions and continue to accelerate growth as the model expands sufficient margins,” said Derrick Wood, who raised its price target from $315 to $320.

Pascal Spano, German bank Metzler, also suggested that the latest results demonstrate the company and management’s ability to recession.

“Cloud revenue and current cloud backlog continue to post all vertically robust demand despite current uncertainty, and told clients in a memo after the results were announced.

– Chloe Taylor, Ganesh Rao

Sap announcement On Wednesday, its first quarter operating profit rose 58% year-on-year to EUR 2.5 billion ($2.9 billion) in certain currencies.

Last month, the German software giant, which became Europe’s most valuable public company and surpassed Nord Nordisk, said its revenues went from 11% to 9 billion euros, and its cloud backlog increased 29% year-on-year.

Earnings per share reached 1.44 euros, 79% per year.

SAP CEO Christian Klein said in a statement that the results showed “our success formula is working.”

“SAP’s business model remains resilient during uncertain times,” he said. “Our AI-powered portfolio enables companies to navigate supply chain disruptions in over 130 countries, unlocking efficiency with agility and speed.”

– Chloe Taylor

Swedish vehicle manufacturer Volvo I said On Wednesday, net sales signed 7% of the previous year in the first quarter of 2025, citing US President Donald Trump’s tariff system.

The company said its automobile sales were 9% lower per year, but its underlying services business had an up 2% from the previous year.

“As the quarter passed, uncertainty surrounding tariffs has increased and the impact on global trade has increased,” said Martin Lundstet, Volvo president and CEO. statement In addition to the quarterly report.

“The lower volume of vehicles affected our profitability, but it still generated operating profit of 13.3 billion ($13.9 billion) and a margin of 10.9%.”

A year ago, quarterly operating profit was Chronas of Swedish 18.2 billion, while Volvo’s operating profit margin was 13.8%.

– Chloe Taylor

Spot Gold fell on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump surpassed $3,500 earlier in the week following reconciliatory comments about trade relations with China and the Federal Reserve chairman.

Precious Metals traded 0.55% at $3,362.85 per ounce at 8:50am in Singapore.

President Donald Trump said he had “no intention” to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

When asked if he had any intention of removing central bank leaders, Trump said “no at all.” The president spoke late Tuesday in his oval office.

Inventory futures opened significantly higher after Trump’s comments, with Dow futures surged by 500 points.

Powell’s term as Fed Chairman will end in May 2026.

–Kevin Bruninger, Dara Mercad

The European market is expected to open high on Wednesday as a rebound in global market sentiment following a volatility match.

UK FTSE 100 The index is expected to be 86 points higher at 8,418 in Germany Dachshund France’s 21,739 rises 457 points CAC 7,402 and Italy’s 84 points ftse mib According to IG data, 35,906 is 446 points higher.

Revenues are expected to come from Natwest and Heathrow on Wednesday. The data release includes the latest purchasing manager index data for Eurozone’s services and manufacturing activities.

– Holly Eliatt