Europe midday: Stoxx gains as EU leaders hope to reach US deal

(Sharecast News) - European shares were higher on Wednesday amid the latest round of tariff threats by US President Donald Trump, with copper prices soaring on his plan to hit the vital commodity with a 50% duty. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.72% at 549.62. Britain's mining-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.34%, while Germany's DAX gained 0.73%. European leaders are hoping to reach a trade deal with the US and may receive notification of Trump's tariff plan for the bloc this week.

However, against that backdrop, Trump also warned that he had the semi-conductor and pharmaceutical industries in his sights, with the latter facing levies of "200%".

"It's been no secret to drug developers that their exemption has been under threat and the industry has already had some time to prepare mitigation plans," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Derren Nathan.

"For now, that exemption remains in place and it could be another year before any taxes come into effect. Washington needs to tread a fine line between acting tough on trade and maintaining the electorates access to vital medicines. For many treatments there just aren't any alternatives."

In equity news, shares in WPP slumped as the advertising agency slashed annual profit forecasts as failed to win new clients amid a weakening economic outlook and the growing threat from artificial intelligence.

Miners were such as Antofagasta, Glencore and Anglo American were all sharply lower on the Trump tariff threat as were pharmaceutical companies including Zealand Pharma and Novo Nordisk.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com