As expected, European stocks hit record highs on Wednesday after the eurozone emerged from recession and U.S. consumer prices fell in April compared to a year earlier.
“Today's US inflation data reignited stocks, with monthly data coming in below expectations,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
”[…] Combined with Chairman Powell's reiteration yesterday that the bar for rate hikes remains very high, it appears that stocks have a clear path to another all-time high. ”
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.59% to 524.71, Germany's Dax index rose 0.82% to 18,869.36 and Spain's Ibex 35 rose 1.1% to close at 11,362.80.
Both the euro and the benchmark 10-year German bond yield rose.
Official data on Wednesday showed that economic growth in the euro zone further accelerated in the first quarter of 2024.
Seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.3% in both the euro area and the wider region, according to preliminary figures from Eurostat, the European Union's official statistics agency.
In comparison, sales in the euro area decreased by 0.1% in the previous quarter. GDP in both regions increased by 0.4% from the previous year.
Looking at individual countries, Germany's GDP increased by 0.2% from the previous quarter, Spain by 0.7%, France by 0.2%, and Italy by 0.3%.
Separately, Eurostat announced that industrial production in both regions fell by 1.0% year-on-year, lower than the expected 1.2% decline.
Nevertheless, it is significant that the largest increase in industrial production was in capital goods, which increased by 1%.
In stock news, drinks company Britvic posted a jump in interim profit and revenue, up 11% after announcing a £75m share buyback as it highlighted “strong” customer demand for its brands. It skyrocketed.
Shares in credit reporting and data giant Experian rose 8% on Wednesday after the company reported best-in-expected annual results, led by accelerating sales growth next year.
Merck rose 5% after higher-than-expected adjusted earnings.
Finland's Neste fell 15% to the bottom of the Stoxx after the biofuel producer and oil refiner cut its 2024 profit outlook for renewable products.
Germany's Thyssenkrupp has rebounded from an early selloff after cutting its full-year sales and net profit forecasts for the second time in three months.
