April 22 (Reuters) – European shares climbed on Wednesday as traders responded positively to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of an indefinite ceasefire with Iran, while investors also parsed a raft of regional corporate earnings reports.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.3% at 617.66 points, as of 0711 GMT.
Major regional bourses also inched higher, with Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC adding 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively.
Despite the positive market reaction, geopolitical uncertainty continues to linger. Trump’s ceasefire declaration appears to be a unilateral move, with no clear indication whether Iran or Israel, Washington’s key ally in the two-month conflict, would honour the agreement.
Trump also said the U.S. Navy would maintain its blockade of Iranian ports and coastlines, which means Iran will likely keep the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed to maritime traffic.
In regional stock markets, the industrial sector led gains on Wednesday with a 1% climb.
In contrast, personal and household goods index languished at the bottom, down 0.7%.
In earnings-related moves, shares of FDJ United dropped 6.5% after the French betting group trimmed its outlook for full-year revenue and profit margin.
ASM International jumped 8.4% after the computer chip equipment maker forecast stronger second-quarter revenue than markets anticipated.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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