Europe Market Wrap 27 August: Nvidia Lifts Technology as French Budget Concerns Hit Banks and the CAC 40

By The Edge Research Team

Twelve of the fourteen European benchmarks The Edge tracks finished lower on Thursday. Germany’s DAX and Finland’s OMX Helsinki were the only two exceptions, while France’s CAC 40 fell 1.68 percent to lead the declines.

The sector table points in the same direction as the country table but for a different, and this time better explained, reason. Technology was the strongest of the eight Stoxx sector indices The Edge tracks, up 1.77 percent, and Automobiles and parts added 0.93 percent, the only two sectors to rise. Banks were the weakest, down 1.78 percent. Nvidia’s results, which beat revenue and guidance estimates per CNBC, are the likely read-through behind technology’s gain; Reuters separately reported that concerns over France’s public finances weighed on French banks. Together they give the session two identifiable and opposing drivers rather than an unexplained rotation.

Nvidia lifts technology while French budget concerns hit banks

Nvidia reported quarterly results after Wednesday’s United States close. Per CNBC, data center revenue was 89 billion dollars, up 117 percent from a year earlier and above the 86.33 billion dollars analysts had expected, and total revenue rose 106 percent on the year. Nvidia guided to 108 billion dollars in sales for the current quarter, above the 104.2 billion dollars analysts had expected. The Edge’s own Outlook in Wednesday’s wrap flagged the release as pending. Technology’s 1.77 percent gain and Automobiles and parts’ 0.93 percent advance on Thursday are consistent with a positive read-through from that release, though The Edge did not confirm a stock level driver for the automobiles move at an approved originator and does not offer one.

Banks fell 1.78 percent, the weakest of the eight sectors and a reversal from Wednesday, when banks led. Reuters reported that shares in Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas fell 3.3 to 4.3 percent on Thursday, among the weakest performers on the CAC 40, as concerns about France’s public finances weighed on lenders whose balance sheets are exposed to the health of government bonds. Reuters also reported that the premium investors demand to hold French 10 year bonds over Germany’s has widened for three straight months to about 88 basis points, the highest since late 2024, ahead of a Fitch review of France’s credit rating on Friday. Oil and gas fell 1.01 percent and Telecommunications 1.02 percent; The Edge did not confirm a sector level driver for either and does not offer one.

Fourteen benchmarks, two winners

Germany’s DAX closed at 26,367.24 on Xetra, up 0.31 percent from Wednesday’s 26,285.96. Finland’s OMX Helsinki added 0.24 percent to 13,742.79.

Every other benchmark in the table fell. The Netherlands’ AEX slipped 0.40 percent to 1,103.38 and Belgium’s BEL 20 gave up 0.38 percent to 5,838.67. Portugal’s PSI 20 fell 0.60 percent, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.69 percent to 651.85 and the Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.71 percent to 6,424.73. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.79 percent to 10,792.54. Spain’s IBEX 35 fell 0.93 percent, Switzerland’s SMI fell 1.09 percent and Italy’s FTSE MIB fell 1.17 percent. France’s CAC 40 was the weakest of the fourteen at 1.68 percent lower, to 8,319.87, weighed down by its own banks for the reasons described above.

Sweden’s OMXS30 and Denmark’s OMXC 25 are Nasdaq’s own end of day levels; The Edge computed their percentage changes against Wednesday’s published closes of 3,326.34 and 1,920.84 rather than relying on Nasdaq’s own change field, on our calculation. OMXS30 fell 0.15 percent to 3,321.44 and OMXC 25 fell 0.17 percent to 1,917.50.

Rates moved little

On CNBC’s intraday tape after the European close, Germany’s ten year yield was 1.1 basis points above Wednesday’s close, Spain’s 0.9, Italy’s 0.6 and France’s 0.2, while the ten year gilt was 0.4 of a basis point lower, each on our calculation. None of the five moves is large enough to support a claim about a shift in the rate outlook on its own.

Commodities and the dollar

Brent crude for October delivery was at 88.90 dollars a barrel in CNBC’s post-close reading, up 1.21 percent, and West Texas Intermediate for October was at 82.64 dollars, up 0.50 percent. Henry Hub natural gas for September, a United States domestic benchmark, rose 1.27 percent to 2.878 dollars. December gold rose 0.26 percent to 4,665.40 dollars an ounce and September silver rose 1.90 percent to 69.32 dollars.

The ICE dollar index slipped 0.04 percent to 99.129. The euro was little changed against the dollar at 1.1649 and the pound was little changed at 1.3593. The dollar held steady against the yen at 159.26. The VIX fell 4.9 percent to 14.46, and Bitcoin rose 2.58 percent to 80,477.80 dollars.

European equities, 27 August close, ranked by change

Closes confirmed at each index administrator or home exchange: Euronext for AEX, BEL 20, PSI 20 and CAC 40; Deutsche Boerse for the DAX; London Stock Exchange for the FTSE 100; Borsa Italiana for the FTSE MIB; Bolsas y Mercados Espanoles for the IBEX 35; SIX Swiss Exchange for the SMI; STOXX for the Stoxx Europe 600 and Euro Stoxx 50, read via CNBC. OMXS30 and OMXC 25 are Nasdaq’s own end of day levels; the percentage changes shown are The Edge’s own calculation against Wednesday’s published closes. OMX Helsinki is Nasdaq’s own end of day level and change. The German index level is the Xetra close, which is fixed in the closing auction from 17:30 CEST.

Stoxx Europe 600 sector indices, 27 August, intraday after the close

Sector levels were read from CNBC intraday after the European close and are not official closes.

European ten year benchmark government bond yields, intraday 27 August

Yields are CNBC’s intraday levels after the European close. Changes are The Edge’s own calculation against Wednesday’s published closes.

Commodities, intraday 27 August

Currencies, rates, volatility and crypto, intraday 27 August

US 10-year Treasury par yield: 4.66% official, 26 August. USD/KWD, Central Bank of Kuwait: 306.850 fils, unchanged, official rate, 26 August. USD/EGP, Central Bank of Egypt: 50.1481 buy / 50.2880 sell, official rate, 26 August.

United States, intraday 27 August, for reference

United States indices are intraday, captured after the European close on 27 August; the session was ongoing at the time of capture, for reference only.

Asia, 27 August close, for reference

Carried verbatim from our Asia Market Wrap for the 27 August session.

Middle East, 27 August close, for reference

Carried verbatim from our Middle East Market Wrap for the 27 August session. Boursa Kuwait, The Egyptian Exchange and the Muscat Stock Exchange were closed for the Prophet’s Birthday and are not shown.

Why it matters

Thursday’s session had two identifiable and opposing drivers rather than a single unexplained rotation. Nvidia’s quarterly results, reported after Wednesday’s United States close and beating revenue and guidance estimates per CNBC, are the most direct available explanation for technology’s 1.77 percent gain, the strongest of the eight Stoxx sectors The Edge tracks. Concerns about France’s public finances, reported by Reuters, pushed Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas down 3.3 to 4.3 percent and made banks the weakest sector, down 1.78 percent, a reversal from Wednesday’s leadership. The Edge did not confirm a specific driver for the automobiles sector’s 0.93 percent gain at an approved originator and does not offer one.

That the French bank sell off had only a small same day counterpart in France’s own benchmark yield, which The Edge’s capture put 0.2 basis points higher, on our calculation, while Reuters reported a French to German bond spread that had widened over a longer three month window to about 88 basis points, illustrates that equity risk can move materially without an equivalent same day change in the benchmark yield The Edge tracks. The DAX’s gain against a falling broader market is a separate, composition story: an index that rose while the pan-European benchmark that contains many of its own constituents fell by a wider margin says more about which German shares investors bought on Thursday than about the German economy.

Outlook

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh delivers his first Jackson Hole keynote as chair on Friday at 14:00 GMT. The Edge’s own Wednesday wrap noted that a Reuters poll conducted between 12 and 26 August put the median forecast for the Stoxx Europe 600 at 670 points by the end of 2026, a level about 2.8 percent above Thursday’s close, on our calculation. Whether Thursday’s sector rotation persists into Friday’s session is a question for the next trading day, and The Edge will measure it against Thursday’s levels shown here.

Sources: Euronext, Deutsche Boerse, London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana, Bolsas y Mercados Espanoles, SIX Swiss Exchange, Nasdaq, STOXX, the United States Department of the Treasury, the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Central Bank of Egypt, Reuters and CNBC. All 14 European index closes were confirmed at the index administrator or home exchange; the German figure is the Xetra close and the two Nordic figures shown with our own calculation are Nasdaq’s own end of day prints. Stoxx sector levels, the five European ten year yields, commodities, currencies, volatility and Bitcoin were captured intraday after the European close on CNBC and are not official closes. The United States indices are intraday and the United States session was ongoing at the time of capture. The United States ten year yield is the official Treasury par yield for 26 August, the most recent published at the time of writing.

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