Negotiations between the EU and the United States to strike a last-minute trade deal are "ongoing," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday, with only eight days to go before new US tariffs on the bloc take effect.

The European Commission and member states are discussing the possible use of the anti-coercion instrument, which would allow the bloc to target digital and financial services in the event of a failure to reach a deal with the US on tariffs.

Over the first half of 2025, China's exports to the world grew nearly 6% from a year earlier, defying expectations of a broad slowdown.

Volkswagen fell 2.4% after Europe's biggest carmaker lowered its outlook on tariff woes. Traton, a truck unit of Volkswagen, came under pressure with an 8.1% slump after it slashed its full-year outlook.

A threatened 30% tariff on European wines would hurt many U.S. companies while hiking prices at home and in restaurants, industry experts warn.

US President Trump stated a “50/50 chance” of securing a trade agreement with the EU to lower import tariffs, with an August 1 deadline looming. While the EU approved a $109 billion retaliatory package,

US stocks are floating near all-time highs as Wall Street maintains cautious optimism that Washington might ink more trade deals, avoiding a worst-case scenario of extraordinarily high tariffs and enabling the resilient economy to continue chugging along.

LVMH's CEO Bernard Arnault plans to open a second factory in Texas; he said on Thursday, while the luxury group is anticipating a "good outcome" soon from trade talks between the U.S. and Europe, his finance chief said.