European stocks ease from record highs as investors weigh earnings, Middle East risks

By Ragini Mathur and Utkarsh Hathi

Aug 12 (Reuters) - European shares pulled back from record highs on Wednesday, as investors digested corporate earnings reports and developments in the Middle East, while a benign U.S. inflation reading eased concerns of a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike next month.

The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.16% lower at 659.48 points.

The benchmark has rallied in recent sessions on robust earnings, with LSEG estimates pointing at 22% growth in second-quarter earnings.

However, with nearly half of that growth driven by the energy sector, investors remained wary that persistently high oil prices could stoke inflation in the energy-dependent region, with no signs of progress in U.S.-Iran talks aimed at ending the Middle East conflict.

"The longer energy prices sustain at a higher level, workers could start demanding higher wages to accommodate inflation and that would put pressure on margins across the board for European companies," said Martin Frandsen, portfolio manager at Principal Asset Management.

A senior Iranian official said that there was no progress on reviving an interim peace deal with U.S. 

Brent crude futures eased 0.1% as traders weighed those comments against a lower demand forecast by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. 

Meanwhile, U.S. consumer prices rose in line with expectations in July, reducing the odds of an interest rate hike from the Fed next month. 

On the STOXX 600, healthcare sector slipped 1.2%, weighed down by EssilorLuxottica's 4.3% fall. A German advocacy group filed a criminal complaint over Meta's AI glasses and units of the French eyewear maker for violating privacy laws. 

The personal and household goods shares led losses with a 1.9% dip. 

Aerospace and defence index led sectoral gains, rising 1.1%, as investors sought exposure to companies that typically benefit from heightened geopolitical risk.

The luxury sector was the biggest decliner, down 2.9%.

Among individual movers, Nokia jumped 9.6% following a better-than-expected forecast from U.S. optical component maker Lumentum.

Investors also digested corporate earnings.

Bilfinger dropped 5.4%, after the German industrial services provider trimmed its full-year margin expectations.

Danish wind turbine maker Vestas soared 19.7% after raising its full-year outlook for earnings margin.

TKMS gained 8.5% after the warship manufacturer raised its outlook for the second time in six months.

Kingspan rose 7.6% after the Irish building materials company said on Tuesday it would acquire power management systems maker BMC Manufacturing for an initial upfront payment of €850 million ($980.90 million), on a debt-free, cash-free basis.

($1 = €0.8669)

(Reporting by Ragini Mathur and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Harikrishnan Nair and Leroy Leo)