European Stocks Finish Steady as UK Banks and Gambling Shares Climb

Deep News10-29 01:50

European equities ended the session little changed, with UK banking shares providing support after Chancellor John Healey imposed a smaller tax increase on the sector than markets had feared.

The Stoxx Europe 600 closed roughly flat, having drifted slightly lower through the morning.

Auto shares led gains, with Stellantis surging 15% after posting better-than-expected third-quarter revenue and adjusted operating profit.

NatWest Group, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays each rose about 2%. Healey confirmed the bank surcharge will rise by 3 percentage points on top of the existing level. That avoids the worst-case scenario of a return to the previous 8% rate, and the increase will be temporary.

UK gambling stocks also advanced after the government raised taxes on machine gaming by less than some had advocated. Entain climbed 3.6%, while casino operator Rank Group jumped 12%.

The more domestically focused FTSE 250 ended down 0.3%.

Earlier, traders digested another heavy round of corporate earnings, including from several banks. Standard Chartered rose 2.4% on better-than-expected profit, while Santander fell 5.6% as its results failed to satisfy investors.

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