Guinness owner Diageo says CEO to step down, names interim successor

Diageo shares were 4% higher astatine 12:53 p.m. successful London (7:53 a.m. ET) aft the Guinness and Johnnie Walker proprietor named Nik Jhangiani arsenic interim main enforcement officer.

Debra Crew, who has served arsenic CEO of the steadfast since June 2023, stepped down from her presumption by "mutual agreement," the steadfast said successful a statement.

Jhangiani, presently the group's main fiscal officer, volition capable successful pursuing Crew's departure.

Diageo stock price.

Cartier owner Richemont on Wednesday posted better-than-expected quarterly income arsenic its jewelry part continues to radiance amid a wider luxury downturn.

Revenues astatine the Swiss luxury radical roseate 6% year-on-year astatine changeless speech rates to 5.41 cardinal euros ($6.28 billion) successful its fiscal archetypal 4th to the extremity of June, somewhat up of the 5.37 cardinal euros forecast by analysts successful an LSEG poll.

The uptick was led by double-digit maturation successful each regions but Asia, which saw a notable downturn successful Japan aft a surge successful spending past twelvemonth fueled by a weaker yen.

Richemont has truthful acold managed to withstand a wider luxury downturn amid continued request for its desirable Van Cleef & Arpels, Buccellati and Cartier jewelry brands. Sales astatine the group's Jewellery Maisons part roseate 11% astatine changeless speech rates successful the 3 months to the extremity of June.

Revenues wrong it Specialist Watchmakers division, which features Piaget and Roger Dubuis, nevertheless continued to lag, declining 7% implicit the period. That was led by weaker income successful Asia, though the radical nevertheless noted a "softer sequential complaint of decline" versus erstwhile quarters.

— Karen Gilchrist

U.K. regulators person issued slope Barclays a £42 cardinal ($56.3 million) good for 2 failings successful fiscal transgression hazard management.

One good relates to folded wealthiness absorption steadfast WealthTek, wherever the Financial Conduct Authority said Barclays "failed to cheque it had gathered capable accusation to recognize the wealth laundering risk, earlier opening a lawsuit wealth account." Barclays has besides agreed to marque a voluntary £6.3 cardinal publication to erstwhile WealthTek clients who person a shortfall successful claims from the company, which the FCA said led it to trim its good implicit the matter.

WealthTek's main spouse John Dance was charged successful 2024 with alleged misappropriation of £64 cardinal of lawsuit funds and is owed to basal proceedings successful 2027.

The FCA meantime fined Barclays £39.3 cardinal for hazard failings related to its proviso of banking services for concern Stunt & Co., which was recovered to person received wealth from a multimillion-pound wealth laundering operation.

A Barclays spokesperson told CNBC: "The FCA's probe relating to Stunt & Co was centred astir humanities wealth laundering enactment and made nary findings that the slope had breached wealth laundering regulations." They added that the slope had undertaken a reappraisal and self-reported its findings to the FCA, had afloat cooperated with some investigations and had further strengthened its fiscal transgression and different power capabilities.

Barclays shares were 0.15% higher astatine 8:58 a.m. successful London.

— Jenni Reid

Shares of French carmaker Renault plunged connected Wednesday aft the institution lowered its 2025 guidance and announced the assignment of a caller interim main enforcement officer.

The Paris-listed banal was past seen trading 16.6% lower.

In a trading update published precocious Tuesday, Renault said it is targeting an operating borderline of astir 6.5% this year, down from a erstwhile forecast of astir oregon exceeding 7%.

Read the afloat communicative here.

— Sam Meredith

European semiconductor stocks fell connected Wednesday aft instrumentality shaper ASML posted guidance that missed expectations.

ASML's third-quarter gross guidance fell abbreviated of expert forecasts portion the institution narrowed its ain gross guidance for 2025.

On apical of that, the Dutch tech elephantine said that, portion it is preparing for maturation successful 2026, it "cannot corroborate it astatine this stage."

ASML shares dropped 7% successful aboriginal trading arsenic a result. Other European spot names besides fell. ASM International was down much than 4%, portion BE Semiconductor was 3.4% lower. STMicro and Infineon were besides down.

— Arjun Kharpal

The opening doorbell rang astir 30 minutes ago, and European stocks are broadly trading successful antagonistic territory. Hot U.S. and U.K. inflation prints, concern astir the determination semiconductor sector and a nett informing from Renault each weighed connected sentiment.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was past seen trading 0.2% lower, with sectors trading mixed. Among large bourses, France's CAC scale led losses with a 0.24% loss.

— Chloe Taylor

Marie Bjerre, Denmark's curate for European affairs, told CNBC that U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to slap 30% tariffs connected EU goods is "completely unacceptable."

"It is surely absorbing times — now, President Trump announced that helium volition enforce 30% tariffs connected Europe, and I person to accidental that is wholly unacceptable, that is unjustified," she said successful an interrogation with CNBC's "Europe Early Edition."

"Europe is simply a trading spouse that you tin trust on, that you tin spot in, and we volition spell into dialog with the U.S. successful bully religion – but we besides cognize that Europe … having a azygous marketplace with 450 cardinal consumers, we are precise charismatic market, and truthful we besides acceptable to support our interests, and we are acceptable to travel with countermeasures if required."

When asked if the EU could scope a commercialized compromise with Washington earlier Trump's Aug. 1 deadline, Bjerre said it was "very hard to say."

"We support being amazed astir which [tariff rate] is present imposed connected us," she said. "It started [at] 10% past it was adjacent more, past it was backmost to 10%, past it was suspended, and present it's 30% – it is, I person to say, rather unreliable."

— Chloe Taylor

The U.K.'s yearly ostentation complaint deed a hotter-than-expected 3.6% successful June, according to information released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) connected Wednesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had anticipated ostentation would scope 3.4% successful the 12 months to June, aft it deed 3.4% successful May.

Read much here.

— Holly Ellyatt

ASML reported second-quarter net that bushed estimates with the its cardinal nett bookings fig up of consensus.

However, the spot instrumentality elephantine missed expert expectations for gross guidance successful the existent 4th and warned of the anticipation of no growth ahead.

Here's however ASML did versus LSEG statement estimates for the 2nd quarter:

• Net sales: 7.7 cardinal euros ($8.95 billion) versus 7.52 cardinal euros expected
• Net profit: 2.29 cardinal euros vs 2.04 cardinal euros expected

Read the afloat communicative here.

— Arjun Kharpal

Good greeting from London, and invited to CNBC's unrecorded blog covering each the enactment and concern quality successful European fiscal markets connected Wednesday.

Futures information from IG suggests determination markets volition commencement the week level to lower, with London's FTSE 100 unchanged and some France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX expected to unfastened 0.2% lower. Italy's FTSE MIB is seen opening 0.35% higher.

The downbeat temper for determination markets comes aft a hard commencement to the week, aft U.S. President Donald Trump announced past play that helium would enforce a 30% tariff connected goods imported from the EU starting Aug. 1.

Hope that the bloc will negotiate a commercialized woody with the White House earlier the extremity of the month was outweighed Tuesday by planetary maturation concerns aft information showed U.S. inflation rose to 2.7% from 2.4% successful June.

— Holly Ellyatt

Earnings play is upon us, with ASML, Richemont and Handelsbanken announcing their latest fiscal results connected Thursday.

On the information front, we person the latest U.K. ostentation people for June and EU commercialized data.

— Holly Ellyatt