Shares of luxury giant LVMH had their best day in over two decades on Wednesday, soaring as much as 14% after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly sales that signalled a possible revival in Chinese demand. The rally added nearly $80 billion to the combined market value of European luxury stocks, according to Reuters report.The world’s largest luxury group, which owns Louis Vuitton, Dior, Moët, and Hennessy, posted its first quarterly sales rise this year, beating forecasts and sparking a sector-wide surge. Rivals including Hermès, Kering, Richemont, Burberry, and Moncler gained between 5% and 9% as investors cheered signs that the industry may be pulling out of its two-year slump.“The sales figures indeed surprised investors positively and are likely to keep the sector’s share price momentum alive,” said Stefan Bauknecht, equity portfolio manager at DWS. Analysts at Bernstein noted that sales exceeded expectations across all divisions — from fashion and jewellery to spirits and hospitality.While optimism is returning, several analysts cautioned against reading too much into the rebound. Jefferies noted that it was “too early to talk about a general recovery” and questioned whether early signs from LVMH were being mistaken for an industry-wide turnaround.According to Reuters calculations, the LVMH-led rally added roughly $80 billion in market capitalisation to companies in the STOXX Europe Luxury 10 index — the biggest such jump since early 2024. The gains come amid hopes that sweeping creative and management changes at top brands will begin to pay off.Sales in mainland China — a key growth engine for global luxury — turned positive, with consumers responding well to immersive retail concepts such as Louis Vuitton’s ship-shaped boutique in Shanghai. Sales from travelling Chinese shoppers also improved, though they remained lower than last year.Chinese demand, which accounts for nearly one-third of global luxury sales, had been hit hard by the property downturn, US trade tensions, and economic uncertainty.Ariane Hayate, European equity fund manager at Edmond de Rothschild, said the third-quarter performance was “reassuring”, citing “idiosyncratic” growth factors such as Louis Vuitton’s initiatives in China. LVMH’s fashion and leather goods division — its core profit driver — improved sequentially but still recorded a 2% year-on-year decline.LVMH Chief Financial Officer Cecile Cabanis said on Tuesday that “economic uncertainty and unfavourable exchange rates” would continue to affect the group’s performance in the fourth quarter. UBS forecasts a 4% organic sales growth for the sector next year, expecting momentum to pick up only in the second half of 2026 as new designer collections reach stores.

India is looking to reduce its Russian oil imports with refiners planning a gradual reduction, according to a Reuters report quoting sources. Russia continues to be India’s largest crude oil supplier. The Donald Trump administration has imposed 50% tariffs on India, 25% of which are for the latter’s crude oil procurement from Russia.On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given assurance that India would discontinue purchasing oil from Russia.“So I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he (Modi) assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,” Trump informed reporters at a White House gathering on Wednesday.Sources told Reuters that Indian refiners have not received any official directive from the government regarding stopping Russian oil imports.The sources quoted in the report indicated that an immediate halt to Russian oil purchases would be problematic, as transitioning to alternative crude sources would result in increased global oil prices and potentially trigger inflation concerns.During April to September, India’s Russian crude imports averaged 1.75 million barrels per day, representing approximately 36% of total oil imports, down from 40% in the corresponding period last year, according to government statistics.Imports of US crude increased by 6.8% year-on-year to roughly 213,000 bpd, constituting 4.3% of total imports.For the six-month period ending September 2025, Middle Eastern oil’s proportion increased to 45% from 42%, as revealed by the data.Following Trump’s claim, India issued a statement on Thursday emphasising its two primary objectives: maintaining stable energy prices and ensuring supply security.“It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.Indian officials are currently conducting trade negotiations in Washington, whilst the US has increased tariffs on Indian goods by twofold to encourage New Delhi to decrease Russian oil imports. US negotiators have indicated that reducing these purchases would be essential for lowering India’s tariff rate and concluding a trade agreement, the Reuters report said.India and China have emerged as the leading purchasers of Russian seaborne crude exports, benefiting from reduced prices that Russia has had to offer following European buyers’ withdrawal and sanctions imposed by the US and EU after the Russia-Ukraine war that started in February 2022.Meanwhile India has indicated that it is exploring enhanced energy collaboration with the United States.“The current Administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in the statement.

The UK economy grew slightly in August helped by an increase in manufacturing output, according to the latest official figures.

The economy expanded by 0.1%, the Office for National Statistics said, after contracting by 0.1% in July.

The government has made boosting the economy a key priority and pressure is mounting ahead of the Budget next month, but economists expect growth to remain sluggish over the next few months.

Many analysts expect that tax rises or spending cuts will be needed to meet the chancellor’s self-imposed borrowing rules.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies is projecting Rachel Reeves will need to find £22bn to make up a shortfall in the government’s finances, and will “almost certainly” have to raise taxes.

On Wednesday, Reeves said she was “looking at further measures on tax and spending, to make sure that the public finances always add up”.

The main driver of growth in August was the manufacturing sector, which grew by 0.7%.

However, the key services sector – which covers businesses in sectors such as retail, hospitality and finance – saw no growth during August.

Monthly growth figures can be volatile, and the ONS has downgraded July’s figure from its initial estimate of zero growth to a 0.1% contraction.

The ONS is focusing on growth over a rolling three-month period, and in the three months to August the economy expanded by 0.3%, which was a slight improvement on the previous figure.

“Economic growth increased slightly in the latest three months. Services growth held steady, while there was a smaller drag from production than previously,” said Liz McKeown, ONS director of statistics.

Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said that while the economy had returned to growth in August, the “outlook remains weak”.

She said households were facing higher costs for essentials such as food, while uncertainty about potential tax rises in the Budget was “expected to weigh on activity for both households and businesses”.

“As a result, we anticipate growth to remain sluggish over the coming months.”

Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, called August’s growth “meagre”.

She said the increases in taxes for businesses that took effect in April this year – such as the rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions – were “undoubtedly playing a part in restraining growth”.

“There is little reason to think GDP growth will accelerate much from here,” Ms Gregory said.

“The disruption to the auto sector caused by the Jaguar Land Rover cyber-attack probably meant the economy went backwards in September.”

Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the UK would be the second-fastest-growing of the world’s most advanced economies this year.

However, it also said the UK would face the highest rate of inflation among G7 nations both this year and next, as result of rising energy and utility bills.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “We have seen the fastest growth in the G7 since the start of the year, but for too many people our economy feels stuck.

“The chancellor is determined to turn this around by helping businesses in every town and high street grow, investing in infrastructure and cutting red tape to get Britain building.”

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride said the latest figures “show that growth continues to be weak and Rachel Reeves is now admitting she is going to hike taxes yet again, despite all her promises”.

“If Labour had a plan – or a backbone – they would get spending under control, cut the deficit and get taxes down.”

Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, said the government was “simply not doing enough to kickstart growth”.

“The chancellor must quit her slowcoach approach to the economy and finally drop her damaging national insurance hike, which has stifled business and hit high streets up and down the country.”