European shares rise as Pernod Ricard lifts spirits makers, Nvidia quells AI drag woes

European stocks climbed on Thursday, after Pernod Ricard's strong earnings lifted shares of French spirits makers, while Nvidia's strong results, quelling broader worries over cooling artificial intelligence demand, also boosted sentiment. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new tab was up 0.3% at 556.52, as of 0812 GMT.   Pernod Ricard (PERP.PA), opens new tab firmed 6.9% after the spirits giant reported a lower-than-expected drop in its annual sales and profit, and forecast improving trends from the second half of 2026. Shares of peer Remy Cointreau (RCOP.PA), opens new tab climbed nearly 4.1%, while heavyweight LVMH (LVMH.PA), opens new tab, owner of Hennessy, added 4.4%.   The stocks helped France's benchmark CAC 40 index (.FCHI), opens new tab advance 1%, recovering some ground after a 2.8% drop earlier this week. European semiconductor stocks were mixed as investors parsed Nvidia's (NVDA.O), opens new tab data center outlook, which fell short of some analysts' expectations. ASML (ASML.AS), opens new tab edged down, BESI (BESI.AS), opens new tab was flat, while Infineon (IFXGn.DE), opens new tab and ASM International (ASMI.AS), opens new tab rose nearly 1% each. The outlook, while still huge in absolute dollar terms and slightly above analyst estimates, disappointed investors accustomed to blowout results. The AI market bellwether also excluded potential China sales from the forecast due to policy uncertainty.   "That decision underscored how geopolitics is reshaping the operating environment for the world's most important technology companies, reminding investors that AI's explosive growth story is increasingly subject to government oversight and trade restrictions," said Ahmad Assiri, a research strategist at Pepperstone. Political turmoil in France and concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve's independence after President Donald Trump's attempt to fire a Fed governor have weighed on European stocks this week. France's opposition parties have said they will bring down the minority government in the September 8 vote, which Prime Minister Francois Bayrou unexpectedly announced on Monday, throwing the euro zone's second-biggest economy back into crisis. A potential election could mean about 5% lower equity market valuations on the French stock index, Citigroup equity strategist Beata Manthey said in a note. "Combined with the fact that French equities tend to be more volatile than peers around elections, this could be a reason to expect additional choppiness." About 274 of STOXX 600 companies had reported second-quarter results until Tuesday, of which 52.9% surpassed analysts' expectations for earnings, just below the typical beat rate of 54%, according to LSEG data. Among other movers, Delivery Hero (DHER.DE), opens new tab climbed 3.8% after the German online takeaway food company reported slightly better-than-expected revenue growth for the second quarter.