European semiconductor shares fall after ASML's growth warning

Renault shares plunge 17% after French carmaker lowers guidance, appoints new interim CEO

Shares of French carmaker Renault plunged on Wednesday after the company lowered its 2025 guidance and announced the appointment of a new interim chief executive officer.

The Paris-listed stock was last seen trading 16.6% lower.

In a trading update published late Tuesday, Renault said it is targeting an operating margin of around 6.5% this year, down from a previous forecast of around or exceeding 7%.

Read the full story here.

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ASML drop drags European chip stocks down

European semiconductor stocks fell on Wednesday after equipment maker ASML posted guidance that missed expectations.

ASML's third-quarter revenue guidance fell short of analyst forecasts while the company narrowed its own revenue guidance for 2025.

On top of that, the Dutch tech giant said that, while it is preparing for growth in 2026, it “cannot confirm it at this stage.”

ASML shares dropped 7% in early trading as a result. Other European chip names also fell. ASM International was down more than 4%, while BE Semiconductor was 3.4% lower. STMicro and Infineon were also down.

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European stocks open lower

The opening bell rang around 30 minutes ago, and European stocks are broadly trading in negative territory. Hot U.S. and U.K. inflation prints, concern about the regional semiconductor sector and a profit warning from Renault all weighed on sentiment.

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

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Danish official says 30% tariffs on EU ‘completely unacceptable’

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

“It is certainly interesting times — now, President Trump announced that he will impose 30% tariffs on Europe, and I have to say that is completely unacceptable, that is unjustified,” she said in an interview with CNBC's “Europe Early Edition.”

“Europe is a trading partner that you can rely on, that you can trust in, and we will go into negotiation with the U.S. in good faith – but we also know that Europe … having a single market with 450 million consumers, we are very attractive market, and therefore we also ready to defend our interests, and we are ready to come with countermeasures if required.”

When asked if the EU could reach a trade compromise with Washington before Trump's Aug. 1 deadline, Bjerre said it was “very hard to say.”

“We keep being surprised about which [tariff rate] is now imposed on us,” she said. “It started [at] 10% then it was even more, then it was back to 10%, then it was suspended, and now it's 30% – it is, I have to say, quite unreliable.”

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UK inflation hits hotter-than-expected 3.6% in June

The U.K.'s annual inflation rate hit a hotter-than-expected 3.6% in June, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had anticipated inflation would reach 3.4% in the twelve months to June, after it hit 3.4% in May.

Read more here.

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Chip giant ASML says it cant confirm that it will grow in 2026

ASML reported second-quarter earnings that beat estimates with the its key net bookings figure ahead of consensus.

However, the chip equipment giant missed analyst expectations for revenue guidance in the current quarter and warned of the possibility of no growth ahead.

Here's how ASML did versus LSEG consensus estimates for the second quarter:

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

Read the full story here.

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Good morning, here are the opening calls

Good morning from London, and welcome to CNBC's live blog covering all the action and business news in European financial markets on Wednesday.

Futures data from IG suggests regional markets will start the week flat to lower, with London's FTSE 100 unchanged and both France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX expected to open 0.2% lower. Italy's FTSE MIB is seen opening 0.35% higher.

The downbeat mood for regional markets comes after a difficult start to the week, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced last weekend that he would impose a 30% tariff on goods imported from the EU starting Aug. 1.

Hope that the bloc will negotiate a trade deal with the White House before the end of the month was outweighed Tuesday by global growth concerns after data showed U.S. inflation rose to 2.7% from 2.4% in June.

What to keep an eye on today

Earnings season is upon us, with ASML, Richemont and Handelsbanken announcing their latest financial results on Thursday.

On the data front, we have the latest U.K. inflation print for June and EU trade data.