European stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday as investors made cautious moves, looking ahead to the upcoming Jackson Hole Symposium for directional clues.
At the virtual conference on Friday, the Federal Reserve’s policymakers are expected to present a timeline for tapering the central bank’s bond-buying program.
Disappointing reading of the Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany, and lingering worries about the impact of surging coronavirus cases of the delta variant weighed on sentiment.
Among the major markets, the U.K. and France ended modestly higher, while Germany closed on a negative note on weak economic data. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.34% and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.18%, while Germany’s DAX ended 0.28% down. Switzerland’s SMI shed 0.58%. The pan European Stoxx 600 is edging up 0.1%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden ended higher.
Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Portugal and Turkey closed weak, while Russia ended flat.
In the UK market, Flutter Entertainment, Standard Chartered, Weir Group, Ocado Group, Melrose Industries, Entain and HSBC Holdings gained 2 to 3.5%.
Evraz, ICP, JD Sports Fashion Group, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and British Land Co also moved up sharply.
Shares of waste management company Augean Plc soared more than 17% after the firm said it has agreed to a $468 million buyout offer from Ancala.
Rolls-Royce Holdings, Severn Trent, Croda International Group, United Utilities, National Grid, Coca-Cola and Fresnillo lost 1 to 1.5%.
In the French market, Publicis Groupe gained nearly 3%, Societe Generale and BNP Paribas gained 2.4% and 2%, respectively. Credit Agricole climbed 1.4%.
Airbus Group, Technip, Safran, Accor, Kering and Unibail Rodamco also closed with strong gains. Pernod Ricard shares closed modestly higher after the company said it expects to book an additional profit before tax of $163 million in its 2021 earnings report, after a favourable tax ruling.
Faurecia, Danone, Engie and Carrefour lost 1 to 2%. Schneider Electric and Legrand also closed weak.
In Germany, Deutsche Bank, Puma, Adidas, Thyssenkrupp and Infineon Technologies gained 1 to 1.5%, while Fresenius Medical Care, Munice RE and Fresenius lost 1 to 1.4%.
Survey results from Ifo Institute showed German business confidence weakened for the second straight month in August mainly due to significantly less optimism in companies’ expectations.
The business climate index fell to 99.4 in August from 100.7 in July. The score was expected to ease moderately to 100.4.
The current situation indicator advanced to 101.4 from 100.4 in the previous month. The expected level was 100.8.
On the other hand, the expectations index declined to 97.5 in August from 101.0 a month ago and also remained below economists’ forecast of 100.0.
European Stocks Close Slightly Higher
2021-08-25 17:11:39
