Hugo Boss falls 10% as 2026 forecasts point to challenging year ahead; European markets higher

LONDON — European stocks were positive on Wednesday as global markets move higher.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up almost 0.2% around 2:30 p.m. in London (9:30 a.m. ET), with major sectors and bourses mixed.

The advance comes after major U.S. indexes recovered in Tuesday’s trading session and Asia-Pacific markets rose broadly overnight — that follows some losses at the start of the week.

Wall Street’s gains came on Tuesday as tech stocks such as Nvidia rose and bitcoin gained, a day after the flagship cryptocurrency logged its worst day since March. 

The S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones were all in negative territory shortly after the opening bell on Wednesday.

Investors are gauging the possibility of a year-end rally, as December trading historically bodes well for U.S. stocks and because November was such a downbeat month as profit-taking trimmed valuations for some high-flying names.

Looking at individual stocks, Zara’s parent company Inditex reported strong nine-month results on Wednesday, revealing a 10.6% increase in currency-adjusted sales between Nov. 1 and Dec. 1 versus the same period in 2024. Shares were last trading more than 10% higher. The Spanish firm noted that autumn and winter collections “remain well received.”

The fast-fashion group — which also owns brands Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius — said currency-adjusted sales rose 8.4% year-on-year to 9.8 billion euros ($11.4 billion) in the quarter, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization grew 8.9% to 3.2 billion euros.

The firm’s Madrid-listed shares have trailed the Stoxx 600 this year, down nearly 7% year-to-date coming into Wednesday’s trading session, amid increased competition from low-cost brands like China’s Shein and Temu.

“This is a very impressive set of results from Inditex, with strong trading in the second part of [the third quarter],” Barclays analyst Matthew Clements said in a note. A significant gross margin expansion and a strong start to the current quarter, which included Black Friday, provides comfort coming into 2026, he added.

German fashion brand Hugo Boss updated its guidance on Wednesday as it undertakes a strategic overhaul to “pave the way for profitable growth.” The company expects earnings before interest and taxes expected to hit between 300 million euros ($349 million) and 350 million euros in 2026 and expects sales to fall in the short term, pointing to a challenging year ahead. Its shares dropped more than 11% but clawed back some losses early in the session and was last seen 10% lower.

Smiths Group, a FTSE-100 engineering company, announced in October that it would sell off some of its companies. Now, the British firm said Wednesday that its baggage-screening arm Smiths Detection will be sold to private equity firm CVC Capital for £2 billion ($2.65 billion). Smiths Group shares were up 0.5% in afternoon trade. It follows the recent sale of its electronic components unit Smiths Interconnect, which focused on defense and medical industries.

Shares in British renewables firm Drax Group also moved on Wednesday, gaining 4.3% amid news that it is advancing its share buyback programme announced in July. The firm purchased 76,241 of its own shares on Dec. 2, per LSE filings.

Frankfurt-listed shares of Dutch aerospace and defense firm Airbus rose 4.5% as the firm cut its plane delivery target, citing a “recent supplier quality issue on fuselage panels impacting its A320 Family delivery flow,” which confirmed earlier reports. It now expects to deliver 790 commercial aircraft this year, a drop of 30.

Elsewhere, shares of Jeep owner Stellantis jumped 8% in morning trade, after Swiss investment bank UBS upgraded the stock to a Buy rating and advised investors to bet on the firm’s “American comeback.”
UBS said it expects Stellantis to regain market share by around 120 basis points year-on-year in 2026, adding that the car maker would also get a boost from relaxed U.S. emissions standards and internal cost cutting measures. Its stock was last seen 5.1% higher.

Reuters, citing anonymous sources, reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration is preparing to propose a major rollback of Biden-era fuel economy standards. Such a move would make it easier for manufacturers to sell gas-powered vehicles.

Global investors are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Dec. 10.

Markets are pricing a roughly 89% chance of a cut during the upcoming meeting, which is much higher than the odds from mid-November, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

— CNBC’s Pia Singh, Chloe Taylor and Elsa Ohlen contributed to this market report.