This is C온라인카지노사이트's live blog covering European markets and business news.

Top news on Thursday May 15

• European stock markets are trading lower for the second day running, with more earnings and data in focus.
• Even London's and are down, after data showed the U.K. economy grew by an unexpectedly strong 0.7% in the fourth quarter. The print will be welcomed by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, but economists warn the momentum may not last.
• Results at German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp have disappointed investors, according to Citi, with shares down more than 9% after orders and sales declined.
• Elsewhere in corporate news, Siemens reaffirmed its full-year outlook while pharma firm Merck cut its forecast.
• And an EU official tells C온라인카지노사이트's Silvia Amaro that negotiations with the U.K. are moving at a "very slow pace" and have met "two major stumbling blocks."

Allianz posts record quarterly operating profit, says geopolitical tensions ‘a catalyst’ for company growth

German insurance giant Allianz Thursday it had achieved record operating profit in the first quarter of the year, citing strong performance in its life/health division and a resilient business model.

Operating profit jumped 6.3% year on year to 4.2 billion euros ($4.7 billion), reaching 26% of the company's full-year outlook midpoint. The firm confirmed its full-year operating profit guidance of 16 billion euros, plus or minus 1 billion euros.

"Allianz's first quarter performance and our confirmed outlook underscore our financial strength and resilient business model, which benefits from the attractiveness of our customer value propositions amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty," CEO Oliver Bate said in a statement alongside the results.

"In fact, we view this uncertainty and change as a catalyst for innovation and growth, allowing us to pursue new opportunities and expand our offerings."

— Chloe Taylor

Thyssenkrupp earnings disappointed markets: Citi

Over at Citi, analysts have been digesting Thyssenkrupp's earnings report.

"Q2'FY25 results ... came in below expectations with adjusted EBIT at €19 million, down from €191 million last quarter, missing VA consensus estimates at €151 million (Citi at €172 million)," Ephrem Ravi, a managing director at the investment bank, said in a note to clients.

Thyssenkrupp on Thursday morning reported a 6% year-on-year drop in orders in its fiscal second quarter, while sales were down 5% from the previous year.

Adjusted EBIT fell 90% year on year to 19 million euros ($21.3 million).

The company confirmed its full-year guidance, but said it had been grappling with macroeconomic uncertainty and "challenging" market conditions.

— Chloe Taylor

EU official says negotiations with U.K. have met 'stumbling blocks'

Negotiations over improved relations between the EU and the U.K. have run into two major stumbling blocks, an EU official has told C온라인카지노사이트's Silvia Amaro.

"Negotiations are progressing at a very slow pace," the official told my colleague. Youth mobility and fisheries are the two biggest stumbling blocks at this stage.

"The U.K. is reluctant to agree on any language on youth mobility," the official added.

On Wednesday, the U.K.'s defense secretary said that negotiations with the EU are at their toughest moment. The same EU official told C온라인카지노사이트's Silvia Amaro that "this is a fair assessment" of the situation.

— Ganesh Rao

German foreign minister backs Trump's target of spending 5% of GDP on defense

On Thursday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul backed U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for NATO members to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Turkey, Wadephul said Germany was following Trump's proposal in this respect.

So far, the target for defense spending has been 2% of GDP for NATO members, which many have not consistently met. Trump has long been for members of the alliance to increase their military and security expenses.

Earlier this year, Germany made to long-standing debt rules to allow for higher defense spending.

Arms maker last topped the German DAX index, having risen around 4.4%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

European stocks open in negative territory

European stocks have opened firmly in negative territory as investors digest earnings updates from a number of companies across the continent.

The and France's were lower by 0.4%, while the U.K.'s and Germany's were in the red by 0.5% at 8.25 a.m. in London.

Elsewhere in the currency markets, the British pound strengthened by 0.2% after better-than-expected U.K. gross domestic product figures for the first quarter.

— Ganesh Rao

Thyssenkrupp shares plummet 8% after sales fall in fiscal first half

Shares of German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp sank 8% shortly after Thursday's opening bell, taking the company to the bottom of the regional Stoxx 600 index.

That came after the firm reported a 5% year-on-year drop in sales in its fiscal first half, with its total sales falling to 16.4 billion euros ($18.4 billion). It cited weak markets and macroeconomic uncertainty.

Thyssenkrupp said it had also seen a year-on-year drop in second quarter order intake because of market conditions.

— Chloe Taylor

Enjoy the moment UK: Economists don't think robust growth is here to stay

The U.K.'s robust and better-than-expected economic performance will be cheered by the country's leadership in Downing Street, but economists say to enjoy the moment while it lasts, as growth will likely moderate later this year.

Here's a snapshot of what economists are saying:

"It is encouraging to see the U.K. economy begin 2025 on a firm growth footing. But growth in the years since the pandemic has followed a common pattern of strong starts that later fizzle out .... In any case, U.K. growth looks set to moderate later this year. While a UK-US trade deal will see the U.S. lower tariffs on some goods, the U.K., as a highly open economy, will still suffer from any global slowdown. This will put further pressure on the public finances."

— George Brown, senior economist at Schroders

Economists also suggest that the surge in GDP is due to temporary tariff and tax influences, not better fundamentals.

"The bumper 0.7% q/q rise in GDP in Q1 (consensus and BoE +0.6%, CE 0.5%) is unlikely to be repeated as a lot of it was due to activity being brought forward ahead of U.S. tariffs and the rise in domestic businesses taxes. This might be as good as it gets for the year."

— Paul Dales, chief U.K. economist at Capital Economics

— Holly Ellyatt

UK GDP figures bring some relief to Chancellor Rachel Reeves

The U.K.'s better-than-expected economic growth of 0.7% in the first quarter (compared to the fourth quarter which saw a lackluster 0.1% expansion) will be a relief for the British Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

"Today's growth figures show the strength and potential of the UK economy," she said in emailed comments. "In the first three months of the year, the U.K. economy has grown faster than the U.S., Canada, France, Italy and Germany," she added.

Reeves and the Labour government have been under pressure to kickstart growth after several months of sluggish economic performance. Reeves is making the most of a rare bit of positive data this morning, remarking:

"Up against a backdrop of global uncertainty we are making the right choices now in the national interest. Since the election we have already had four interest rate cuts, signed two trade deals, saved British Steel and given a pay rise to millions by increasing the minimum wage," Reeves said.

— Holly Ellyatt

Breaking down the latest UK growth figures

C온라인카지노사이트's Steve Sedgwick, Karen Tso and Juliana Tatelbaum digest the latest U.K. GDP figures, as well as recent comments by Bank of England policymakers on the state of the country's economy.

— Katrina Bishop

Siemens reiterates outlook despite "increased uncertainty in the economic environment"

Industrial technology company has left its financial outlook for the year unchanged despite "increased uncertainty in the economic environment," while reporting its second-quarter results.

The company reported total sales of 19.8 billion euros ($22.19 billion), beating analyst expectations of 19.2 billion euros. Siemens also hauled in 2.4 billion euros in net profit, beating a forecast of 1.85 billion euros.

"Largely inline report, with an unchanged [financial year] guide, and overall no big changes to the equity story - even if there are a few moving parts," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Fielding in a note to clients. "We do note recent share price strength could create some short term downside risk."

Siemens AG shares have risen 19% so far this year.

— Ganesh Rao

Germany's Merck lowers full-year outlook on macroeconomic, tariff uncertainty

German pharmaceutical company cut its full-year outlook on Thursday amid macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty and foreign-exchange headwinds.

The company forecast earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted for one-off items, of around 5.8 billion euros ($6.5 billion) to 6.4 billion in 2025. That's below the 6.1 billion euros to 6.6 billion euros forecast in February.

"Against the backdrop of the ongoing highly dynamic development of macroeconomic, geopolitical and industry specific conditions, for example due to decisions of the U.S. administration, the forecast is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and volatility in fiscal 2025," the company wrote in a statement.

In particular, it said that uncertainty is centered on the "volatility and effects of U.S. tariff policy" and potential countermeasures, adding that the company is "carefully observing corresponding developments and is evaluating potential scenarios and countermeasures."

— Karen Gilchrist

UK economy grows 0.7% in first quarter, but bounce expected to be short-lived

The U.K. economy grew 0.7% in the first quarter of 2025, .

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 0.6% over the period, up from the 0.1% and zero growth in the fourth and third quarters, respectively.

The ONS said first-quarter growth "was driven by an increase of 0.7% in the services sector, production also grew, by 1.1%, while the construction sector showed no growth."

Deutsche Bank Economist Sanjay Raja said this week that any first quarter jump is likely to be short-lived.

"By all accounts, a surprisingly stronger end to 2024 combined with some strength in domestic spending and front-running of trade ahead of Liberation Day, will have led to a bigger jump to start the year," he said in a research note. Deutsche Bank believes "risks are skewed higher," however.

"The bump higher in activity will likely be short lived, however. We expect GDP growth to reverse in the second quarter of 2025, before slowly edging higher through the course of the year – and eventually returning to its trend growth rate in early 2026," he said.

– Holly Ellyatt

How are markets in Asia and the U.S. looking?

Here's a quick update on market action in Asia and the U.S. overnight from our teams in Singapore and New York.

mostly fell overnight, after mostly gaining in the previous session on easing U.S.-China trade tensions. Japan's benchmark  fell 0.90%, while the Topix lost 0.75%. South Korea's Kospi declined 0.29%, while the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.37%.

In the United States, after the broad market index strung together a third consecutive advance in reaction to the Trump administration and China hammering out a temporary suspension of their tit-for-tat tariff dispute.

Futures tied to the  were down 0.2%, while  lost about 0.1% fell 173 points, or 0.4%.

U.S. traders will be keeping an eye on producer price index data, retail sales and industrial production numbers for April that will be released before the stock market opens.

— Holly Ellyatt, Lee Ying Shan and Scott Schnipper

European markets: Here are the opening calls

Good morning from London, here are the opening calls for today.

European bourses are expected to open in flat to lower territory on Thursday as markets struggle to regain momentum after snapping a four-session winning streak.

Futures point to Germany's , the French  and Italian all opening around 0.16% lower, while the FTSE 100 is expected to open slightly higher.

Traders will be keeping an eye on earnings from , , and . Data releases in focus include the latest U.K. gross domestic product data, with preliminary first-quarter data out today.

— Holly Ellyatt