European Stocks Modestly Higher In Cautious Trade

European stocks are modestly higher Wednesday afternoon with investors making cautious moves, looking ahead to fresh directional clues, after several markets in the region posted new record highs amid optimism about economic recovery.

The focus is now on the upcoming U.S. jobs data, due on Friday.

The pan European Stoxx 600 is up 0.14%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 is up marginally, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 are rising 0.2% and 0.35%, respectively. Switzerland’s SMI is up as well, gaining nearly 0.3%.

In the German market, Beiersdorf is climbing more than 3%. Lufthansa is up 2.7% and Volkswagen is gaining nearly 2%. BMW is up by about 1.7%, while Bayer and Vonovia are gaining 1% each.

Deutsche Wohnen, Infineon Technologies, Thyssenkrupp and RWE are down 1 to 2%.

In France, Air France-KLM is gaining more than 2%. Total is up nearly 2% and Airbus is climbing up 1.5%, while Michelin, Technip and Renault are up 0.8 to 1%.

Vivendi, WorldLine, Publicis Groupe, Capgemini, Saint Gobain and Credit Agricole are down in negative territory, losing 0.6 to 1.7%.

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.