Europe midday: Auto shares motor as Trump wants higher emissions

(Sharecast News) - European shares were up on Thursday morning with car makers in focus after US President Donald Trump decided to lower environmental standards and allow more polluting fossil fuel vehicles. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 gained 0.40% to 578.54 at 1206 GMT.

"European markets have kicked off the day on a positive footing, coming off the back of an Asian session that has been dominated by stories out of Japan," said Marketscope analyst Joshua Mahony.

"The circa 2% gain for the Nikkei 225 came amid claims from BoJ Governor Ueda that the government's economic stimulus plans will positively impact economic growth, although it would also have inflationary effects."

"In Europe, the carmakers are leading the push higher, with strong gains across the likes of BMW, Daimler, Porsche, Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Stellantis."

Trump overnight said he would move to slash fuel economy standards implemented by his predecessor Joe Biden, making it easier for automakers to sell fossil fuel cars.

"While this is a move aimed at lowering costs for US consumers, it also provides a shot in the arm for European carmakers that have struggled to dominate the EV space given rampant Chinese competition," Mahon said.

In economic news, the decline in business activity across the eurozone construction sector eased slightly in November, but remained firmly in negative territory for the 43rd straight month.

The eurozone construction purchasing managers' index, conducted by Hamburg Commercial Bank and S&P Global, rose to 45.4 last month, up from 44.0 in October.

This was marginally ahead of the 45.1 consensus forecast but still well below the neutral 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.

Meanwhile, retail sales across the eurozone were unchanged in October, missing expectations of a slight increase, having moved more or less sideways over the past four months.

In other equity news, Philips shares slumped on concerns about 2026 growth after comments from the Dutch health technology company at a conference hosted by Citi.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com