Major European bourses steadied early on Wednesday (4th). The market kept eyes wide open on the Mideast situation, with tech and healthcare stocks thriving.

The pan-European STOXX 600 inched up 2.24 points or 0.4% to 606.68. The UK FTSE 100 added 8 points or less than 0.1% to 10,492. The French CAC 40 rose 13 points or 0.2% to 8,117. The German DAX climbed 106 points or 0.4% to 23,896. The Spanish IBEX 35 lost 17 points or 0.1% to 17,044. The Italian FTSE MIB grew 21 points or less than 0.1% to 44,490.

Chip equipment maker ASM International mounted 4.2%. Chip stock Infineon gained 1.5%. Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk rallied 2.6%. Medical equipment stock Siemens Healthineers edged up 1.5%. Defense stocks Leonardo leaped 3.6%, and Rheinmetall increased 2.7%. Sportswear company Adidas expected this year's operating profit to hike by up to 8.8% YoY, below the original target of 10%, causing its stock price to plunge 7%.

In terms of US stock futures, DJIA futures lost by 162 points or 0.3% to 48,398; S&P 500 futures shed by 24 points or 0.4% to 6,800; and Nasdaq 100 futures faded by 109 points or 0.4% to 24,646.

AASTOCKS Financial News