European Shares Mixed In Cautious Trade
European stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to the release of U.S. inflation data along with the ECB policy meeting this week for directional cues.
The pan European STOXX 600 was marginally lower at 456.05 after gaining 0.3 percent on Monday.
The German DAX fell 0.4 percent and France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.1 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4 percent, driven by a weaker pound after the release of mixed labor market data pointing to a cooling labor market but strong wage growth in July.
The U.K. unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent in the three months to July from 4.2 percent in the preceding period, the Office for National Statistics reported.
Regarding the wage growth, data showed that average earnings excluding bonuses grew the most since records began in 2001.
BOE policymaker Catherine Mann warned late Monday that it’s too soon for the Bank of England to stop raising rates.
Elsewhere, data from the federal statistics office showed earlier today that Germany wholesale prices continued their downward trend for a fifth consecutive month in August due to lower prices for mineral oil products.
Wholesale prices fell 2.7 percent compared to the same month last year.
German investor sentiment unexpectedly improved in September, with the ZEW economic sentient index rising to -11.4 points from -12.3 points in August.
In corporate news, Associated British Foods jumped 6 percent in London after the Primark owner raised its full-year profit outlook for the second time in four months, citing improved sales growth across categories.
Smurfit Kappa Group shares fell nearly 9 percent. The packaging firm announced a deal to combine with U.S. peer WestRock to form a new holding company, Smurfit WestRock.
Vallourec S.A. shares edged up about half a percent. The French manufacturing company focused on geothermal industry reaffirmed its EBITDA outlook for full year 2023.
German business software maker SAP declined 2.7 percent after U.S. peer Oracle fell short on license and hardware revenue in the fiscal first quarter.
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