European stocks closed modestly higher on Wednesday despite staying somewhat sluggish for much of the day’s session with investors digesting the latest batch of economic data and looking ahead to upcoming reports including the crucial jobs data from the U.S.
The pan European Stoxx 600 advanced 0.28%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.39%, France’s CAC 40 ended 0.23% up and Germany’s DAX moved up 0.49%, while Switzerland’s SMI gained 0.31%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden closed higher.
Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Portugal and Spain drifted lower, while Czech Republic and Turkey ended flat.
In the UK market, Burberry Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Royal Dutch Shell, British Land Company and BP gained 2 to 3.5%.
Smith DS, Coca-Cola, Land Securities, Bunzl, Polymetal International, Imperial Brands, IAG, Prudential and HSBC Holdings also posted strong gains.
Kingfisher, Melrose Industries, Johnson Matthey, Weir Group, Ocado Group, B&M, Just Eat Takeaway and Pearson closed weak.
In the French market, Technip shares surged up more than 7.5%. Air France-KLM gained about 3.5% and Total rallied more than 2%. Airbus Group, Renault, Michelin, Essilor, Faurecia, Orange and Safran also ended with impressive gains.
Vivendi, WorldLine, Teleperformance, Capgemini, Saint Gobain and Credit Agricole ended weak.
In Germany, Beiersdorf, Lufthansa and Volkswagen gained 2 to 3%. BMW, Vonovia, Continental and Bayer also ended notably higher.
Deutsche Wohnen, Merck, Thyssenkrupp, Covestro, RWE and Infineon Technologies closed weak.
Shares of drugmaker MorphoSys plunged nearly 13% after the company announced the acquisition of U.S. cancer specialist Constellation Pharmaceuticals for $1.7 billion.
In economic news, data from Destatis showed Germany’s retail sales declined more than expected in April, falling by 5.5% on a monthly basis, reversing March’s 7.7% increase. Economists had forecast sales to drop 2% in April.
On a yearly basis, growth in retail sales slowed to 4.4% from 11.6% in March.
Eurozone producer price inflation accelerated sharply in April driven by higher energy prices, data from Eurostat showed. Producer price inflation rose to 7.6% in April from 4.3% in March. This was also bigger than economists’ forecast of 7.3%.
In news from the U.K., a report from Bank of England showed mortgage approvals increased more than expected in April, rising moderately to 86,921 in the month from 83,402 in March. The expected level was 84,980.
Net mortgage borrowing fell to GBP 3.3 billion from a record GBP 11.5 billion in March. Economists had forecast borrowing to decline to GBP 6.6 billion.
Market Analysis
European Markets Close Modestly Higher
2021-06-02 17:39:30
