European stocks retreat after four-session rally as earnings disappoint

European shares fell on Wednesday after four days of gains after trade deals between the United States and Britain and between the United States and China eased some concerns about the global trade war, while weak corporate earnings also weighed on the benchmark index.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 0.24% at 543.88 points, its first loss in five sessions.

The surge had begun on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Britain, and continued after Beijing and Washington agreed to a 90-day pause on most tariffs imposed on each other in April.

"This is standard profit-taking. European investors are approaching some of the global tariff news with a little more healthy skepticism compared to U.S. investors, and the market is taking a bit of a breather," said Steve Sosnick, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers.

The STOXX 600 is well above its level in early April, when Trump launched his universal tariffs on trading partners, leading to a global sell-off.

The healthcare sector weighed the most on the benchmark index, down 1.5%. Alcon posted its biggest one-day loss since March 2020 after missing quarterly earnings expectations and revising its 2025 outlook to reflect the impact of U.S. tariffs.

Most sectors ended the day lower, although banks rose 1.4% to trade at their highest level since August 2010.

Earnings remained in the spotlight, with investors listening for clues about how companies are planning to weather the uncertain economic environment.

Trainmaker Alstom fell to the bottom of the STOXX 600, down more than 17 percent, after its forecast for the current year disappointed investors, weighing on the industrials sector.

TUI, Europe's biggest tour operator, fell around 11% after reporting a 1% fall in summer bookings, while Imperial Brands lost 7.3% after the cigarette maker said Chief Executive Stefan Bomhard would retire.

In LONDON, the Financial Times index fell 0.21% to 8,585.01 points.

In FRANKFURT, the DAX index fell 0.47% to 23,527.01 points.

In PARIS, the CAC-40 index lost 0.47% to 7,836.79 points.

In MILAN, the Ftse/Mib index rose 0.70% to 40,356.68 points.

In MADRID, the Ibex-35 index rose 0.52% to 13,840.20 points.

In LISBON, the PSI20 index fell by 0.19% to 7,176.41 points.