Session at a Glance

DAX surges 3.4% as SAP and Kering earnings ignite a broad European rally.

European markets posted a strong week with every major index finishing higher, led by Germany’s DAX (+3.4%) on the back of blockbuster earnings from SAP (+21.5%) and a luxury sector revival sparked by Kering’s Gucci turnaround. The CAC 40 gained 2.3% and the FTSE 100 added 2.4%, helped by a global tech rally after strong US hyperscaler results reinforced AI spending confidence. Eurozone CPI ticked up to 2.9% on energy costs but failed to dent sentiment.

The week’s winners were earnings-driven: SAP’s cloud backlog beat, Kering’s first comparable sales growth in three years, and Ferrari’s raised guidance all rewarded quality. On the other side, chipmakers ASML and Infineon gave back ground on sector rotation out of semis, while BP slid after announcing a full exit from the North Sea. The through-line: markets rewarded idiosyncratic growth stories and punished names exposed to commodity or cyclical headwinds.

Here are the biggest movers across Europe’s major exchanges for the week ending Saturday, August 1, grouped by market — each figure is the stock’s move over the full trading week.

United Kingdom (LSE)

↑ REL +9.14%

Mid-cap · 2675 (local)

Why: RELX rallied after strong H1 results showed 10% adjusted EPS growth, 99% cash conversion, and a ramped-up £2.25bn buyback program that tightened the free float.

Pattern: Momentum continuation on a high-quality compounder — buyback-driven supply removal and earnings beat lifted the stock through near-term resistance on rising volume.

↓ BP -2.34%

Large-cap · 542.9 (local)

Why: BP fell after announcing it will sell its entire North Sea business, ending 60 years of UK production, as investors questioned whether the $1.75–3bn disposal price undervalues the assets.

Pattern: Mean-reversion pressure on a strategic pivot — the North Sea exit headline created uncertainty around valuation, pushing BP lower against a rising broader market.

Germany (Xetra / DAX)

↑ SAP +21.51%

Mega-cap · 155.9 (local)

Why: SAP surged after Q2 cloud backlog growth beat expectations, robust AI platform demand accelerated, and the company launched the second phase of its €10bn buyback program.

Pattern: Breakout to new highs on an earnings catalyst — SAP’s outsized DAX weighting dragged the entire index higher, a textbook large-cap momentum event amplified by index flows.

↓ IFX -9.19%

Mid-cap · 59.47 (local)

Why: Infineon dropped as the European semiconductor sector sold off on rotation out of chip names following mixed US peer signals and profit-taking after a prior AI-fuelled rally.

Pattern: Sector rotation unwind — mid-cap semis gave back gains as capital rotated into software and luxury names with fresher earnings catalysts, classic intra-tech rotation.

France (Euronext Paris)

↑ KER +21.71%

Large-cap · 290.6 (local)

Why: Kering surged 22% after Q2 results showed the first comparable sales growth in three years, with Gucci’s turnaround under creative director Demna beating expectations and triggering analyst upgrades.

Pattern: Mean-reversion breakout from a multi-year downtrend — Kering had been the most-shorted luxury name, so the earnings beat triggered a violent short squeeze alongside fundamental re-rating.

↓ ENGI -5.95%

Mid-cap · 26.07 (local)

Why: Engie drifted lower despite solid H1 results and a guidance upgrade, with the utility sector underperforming as rising energy costs and sticky inflation weighed on rate-sensitive names.

Pattern: Sector headwind drag — utilities lagged the broader rally as rising eurozone CPI (2.9%) pushed rate-cut expectations further out, compressing the yield-proxy trade.

Netherlands (Euronext AMS)

↑ WKL +15.09%

Mid-cap · 68.78 (local)

Why: Wolters Kluwer rallied ahead of its August 5 earnings report, buoyed by strong Q1 cloud revenue growth (+14% organic) and sector sympathy from SAP’s enterprise software beat.

Pattern: Pre-earnings momentum run — the stock caught a bid from enterprise software rotation and expectations that AI-driven product upgrades will feature in the upcoming H1 results.

↓ ASML -8.70%

Mega-cap · 1440 (local)

Why: ASML fell 8.7% as profit-taking hit European chipmakers after a prior rally, compounded by sector rotation into software and luxury following stronger earnings from those verticals.

Pattern: Momentum reversal on sector rotation — mega-cap semis gave back gains as investors reallocated to names with fresher catalysts, a pattern consistent with mid-earnings-season rotation.

Switzerland (SIX)

↑ LONN +5.16%

Mid-cap · 570.2 (local)

Why: No single catalyst — Lonza gained steadily as the defensive pharma CDMO sector attracted inflows amid rising inflation prints and broader risk-on sentiment lifting Swiss mid-caps.

Pattern: Quiet momentum continuation — Lonza’s steady grind higher reflects institutional accumulation in quality healthcare names, uncorrelated to the week’s tech and luxury themes.

↓ ZURN -1.16%

Large-cap · 615.8 (local)

Why: No single catalyst — Zurich Insurance slipped modestly as the broader insurance sector lagged in a risk-on week that favored higher-beta growth names over defensive yield plays.

Pattern: Mild underperformance in a risk-on week — large-cap insurers were a source of funds as capital rotated into growth and earnings-beat stories elsewhere in Europe.

Italy (Borsa Italiana)

↑ RACE +8.94%

Large-cap · 343.6 (local)

Why: Ferrari jumped after Q2 revenue beat expectations at €1.94bn (+8%), with management raising full-year guidance on sustained demand for personalised supercars and a full order book through 2027.

Pattern: Earnings breakout on a premium compounder — the rare Q2 guidance raise (Ferrari typically waits until Q3) triggered upgrades and momentum buying from quality-growth funds.

Spain (BME / Madrid)

↑ ITX +6.72%

Large-cap · 57.48 (local)

Why: Inditex gained nearly 7% as the luxury and consumer discretionary sector rallied broadly, with Kering’s turnaround narrative lifting sentiment across European fashion and retail names.

Pattern: Sector sympathy momentum — Inditex rode the consumer-discretionary wave as Kering’s beat reassured investors that European consumer spending remains resilient, lifting the cohort.

↓ IBE -2.56%

Large-cap · 20.52 (local)

Why: No single catalyst — Iberdrola drifted lower alongside other European utilities as rising eurozone inflation (2.9%) pushed rate-cut expectations further out, pressuring yield-sensitive names.

Pattern: Macro headwind for rate-proxies — utilities underperformed the risk-on tape as bond yields firmed on the hotter CPI print, a classic inverse relationship during inflation upticks.

Nordics (OMX / Stockholm)

↑ HM-B +6.92%

Mid-cap · 173.9 (local)

Why: H&M rallied nearly 7% as the consumer discretionary sector caught a broad bid from Kering’s luxury turnaround and resilient European consumer spending data supporting retail sentiment.

Pattern: Sector sympathy lift — H&M’s move mirrored the consumer-discretionary cohort rally across Europe, with Inditex and Kering setting the tone for fashion and retail names.

↓ ALFA -3.22%

Mid-cap · 558.2 (local)

Why: No single catalyst — Alfa Laval slipped as industrial names underperformed in a week dominated by software, luxury, and consumer earnings rather than capex-cycle stories.

Pattern: Sector rotation drag — capital moved away from mid-cap industrials toward earnings-driven growth stories, leaving Alfa Laval as a relative laggard in an otherwise strong market.

Reading the Week

The exchange-by-exchange breakdown above surfaces both market-specific catalysts and cross-border themes. When multiple European exchanges move together, look for a macro driver (USD/EUR move, ECB/BoE policy, commodity price, EU regulatory shift). Isolated single-exchange moves tend to reflect local earnings, regulatory news, or sector rotation.

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