LONDON — European stocks opened higher on Wednesday as global market nerves eased after U.S. President Donald Trump’s universal 10% tariff came into effect rather than the threatened higher 15% rate.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.5% higher just after the open, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose 0.8%, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 added roughly 0.3%.

It’s another busy day of earnings Wednesday with Iberdrola, E.ON, Diageo, Bayer, Ferrovial, Heidelberg Materials, Poste Italiane, Fresenius, Novonesis and Telefonica. Data releases include German GDP and consumer confidence and the latest euro zone inflation figures.

HSBC reported earnings ahead of the opening bell, with the bank reporting an annual pre-tax profit of $29.91 billion, beating estimates.

The positive open for European stocks comes after regional bourses closed higher Tuesday as investors assessed the new global trading landscape after Trump’s latest tariff move. In his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, Trump said he believed his tariffs would replace income tax.

“As time goes by, I believe that tariffs, paid for by foreign countries, will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax, taking a great financial burden off the people that I love,” the president said.

U.S. stock futures were slightly higher Tuesday night ahead of a key earnings report from Nvidia, which comes at a time when investors are recalibrating lofty tech stock valuations and are increasingly skeptical on hyperscalers’ high AI capital expenditures.

In Asia-Pacific markets, South Korea and Japan stocks hit record highs overnight.

— CNBC’s Garrett Downs contributed to this market report.

LONDON — European stocks were in mixed territory on Wednesday afternoon, as regional market jitters grow over U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was trading almost 0.1% lower just after 12:45 p.m. in London (7:45 a.m. ET), with sectors and major regional bourses in mixed territory.

European defense stocks moved higher, with the Stoxx Europe Aerospace and Defense index adding 1.6% — putting it on course for its fourth consecutive day of gains.

Global market attention is turning to President Trump’s intention regarding Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, following the U.S. military operation that led to the capture and arrest of Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro.

The president and his team are considering “a range of options” to acquire Greenland — including “utilizing the U.S. Military,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNBC on Tuesday.

Trump has insisted that the U.S. needs the Arctic island for national security purposes and, this week, pointed to Russian and Chinese activities in the region.

Greenland and Denmark have both repeatedly said that the country is not up for grabs, and European leaders on Tuesday issued a statement that said, “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”

In a separate statement on Tuesday evening, Danish Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said Denmark would spend 88 billion Danish kroner ($13.8 billion) on rearming Greenland given “the serious security situation we find ourselves in.”

“I hope that the United States also recognizes that fact and is ready to cooperate on our common interest in Arctic security,” he said. “Because Denmark would like to continue to be an ally of the United States. But that requires a mutual willingness to show respect and cooperation.”

Looking at individual stocks in Europe, logistics firm InPost shed 6.5% to tumble to the bottom of the Stoxx 600 in early afternoon trade. The stock gained 28% in Tuesday’s session after the company said it had received an indicative proposal for an acquisition of all its shares.

In contrast, Thyssenkrupp AG advanced 6.2%, rising to the top of the European index following reports that the German industrial giant is considering a phased sale of its steel division to India’s Jindal Steel.

Elsewhere, Bayer shares rose 1.2% after the company announced it was suing Covid-19 vaccine makers Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna, alleging the companies had used its mRNA technology in their own immunizations for the virus. In lawsuits filed in Delaware federal court on Tuesday, Bayer accused the companies of…

Drug pricing has emerged as one of the biggest issues for pharmaceutical companies this year, as the U.S. looks to dramatically reduce the costs paid by consumers.

As the largest single market for most pharma and biotech firms, higher drug prices in the U.S. — often nearly three times as costly as in other countries — are a key factor in the industry’s reliance on American sales, with branded drugs commanding even steeper premiums.

President Donald Trump has pushed for lower drug prices for Americans through so-called Most Favored Nations drug pricing, whereby the prices in the U.S. are set at the lowest price paid by other wealthy countries. That could have a tremendous impact on companies’ balance sheets.

But exactly how exposed are Europe’s biggest pharma companies to the U.S. market?

Majority U.S. sales

Among the 10 largest biopharmaceutical companies in the Stoxx 600 health index, five have a majority of their total sales from the U.S.: Roche, Novo Nordisk, GSK, Argenx, and UCB.

Argenx is the most exposed, with 85% of total sales originating in the U.S. in its last reported period.

The least exposed are Germany’s Merck KGaA and Bayer, with about 30% of sales coming from the U.S. Both Merck and Bayer have diversified businesses that go beyond pharmaceuticals while Roche also has a sizeable diagnostics division.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca, the FTSE 100’s largest company, generates 42% of its sales from the U.S., and is aiming to boost this share as it targets $80 billion in revenue by 2030. In its third-quarter earnings report, the company, which has a broad portfolio of blockbuster drugs comprising cancer, respiratory, and diabetes medicines, said it is delivering on its strategy to strengthen operations in the U.S. to “power growth.”

The Cambridge, U.K.-based company has also pledged significant investments in the U.S., just like peers Novartis, Roche, and GSK, since Trump took up his second presidential term.

Making deals

​Trump’s push for slashing drug prices has led many firms on both sides of the Atlantic to make deals with the administration.

​In May this year, the president signed an executive order establishing MFN drug pricing. He has also sent letters to 17 major drugmakers, calling for them to slash U.S. prescription prices to levels paid overseas.

​At the same time, Trump has made a push for onshoring production of various goods, including pharmaceuticals, and threatened triple-digit tariffs for drugmakers that fail to invest in U.S. manufacturing — further ramping up the pressure on companies to make deals with his administration.

​AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, and other U.S. pharma giants have already made deals…

LONDON — European stocks edged below the flatline on Friday as investors digest the end of a choppy month.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 initially saw a positive start to the session but quickly moved lower, with major bourses and sectors mixed at 8:50 a.m. in London (3:50 a.m. ET).

November has been a volatile month for equities with fears of stretched AI valuations resurfacing, causing a rollercoaster of relief rallies and sell-offs adding to insights from the latest earnings season and uncertainty over monetary policy.

However, global markets were buoyed this week by rising expectations of an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve when it next meets on Dec. 9-10.

Delivery Hero also sat at the higher end of the index through the previous trading session. The German food delivery company gained 7.3% on Friday following a shareholder call for a strategic review, according to Bloomberg reporting. Delivery Hero declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.

British airline EasyJet advanced 2.2% on Friday as investors continued to react to its positive earnings on Wednesday, in which the firm raised profit forecasts for package holidays.

Shares in Germany’s Puma soared more than 18% on Thursday following a media report that Chinese sports multinational Anta Sports is preparing an acquisition bid. However, the stock dipped 0.7% in early dealmaking on Friday.

Investors will be watching defense stock moves on Friday as U.S. officials continue to attempt to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin broke his silence on the plan on Thursday and said his country is ready for “serious talks.”

The Stoxx Aerospace and Defense Index was last seen edging below the flatline.

The benchmark notched upwards for the fifth consecutive month in November, with healthcare-related stocks leading the index. Roche and Bayer performed well after each posting strong trial data, while France’s Abivax is up well over 1000% year-to-date amid promising data around its ulcerative colitis drug.

Tech names experienced swings as fears around an AI-fueled bubble and stretched valuations in the U.S. spilled over to Europe. ASMI, which supplies equipment to chipmakers, is down nearly 15% on the month, while Dutch chip equipment maker ASML is around 2% lower over the same time period.

ASMI was last seen 0.4% higher, while ASML was flat.

Defense stocks have also seen losses, with Germany’s Hensoldt down by nearly 25% this month amid delayed growth guidance at its capital markets day.

In terms of data, a handful of European member states are expected to release preliminary inflation data on Friday.

U.K. car production data from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders came early in the day, revealing a fall of 23.8% year-on-year in October 2025, following a cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover that halted production for over two weeks.

Investors will be watching Stateside commodities on Friday after a…