Major European Markets Extending Recent Gains

European stocks are up in positive territory on Thursday, led by gains in materials and healthcare sectors.

Easing concerns about policy tightening after recent data from the U.S. and several European countries showing drops in consumer prices appear to be contributing to the positive sentiment in the markets.

The pan European Stoxx 600 is advancing 0.23%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 is climbing 0.63%, Germany’s DAX is up 0.25% and France’s CAC 40 is higher by 0.38%, while Switzerland’s SMI is gaining 0.26%.

Technology stocks are mostly lower, weighed down by lower earnings from Netflix, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.

In the UK market, Hikma Pharmaceuticals is rising 8%. Anglo American Plc is up 5% after reporting strong production for the second quarter.

Persimmon is gaining 4.5%. Antofagasta, Glencore, Barratt Developments, Royal Mail, Burberry, Segro, Taylor Wimpey, Rio Tinto, Berkeley Group Holdings, M&G, Fresnillo and BHP are up 2 to 4%.

Pennon is declining nearly 4%. Easyjet is down 1.6% despite reporting a record pretax profit of 203 million pounts.

Just Eat Takeaway.com, Diageo, Scottish Mortgage, Unilever and Flutter Entertainment are down 1.2 to 1.6%.

In Paris, Publicis Groupe is up 2.6% after reporting results that surpassed expectations and raising guidance.

ArcelorMittal is gaining 2.5%. Kering, TotalEnergies, Orange, AXA, Saint Gobain, Engie, Bouygues and Sanofi are gaining 1.3 to 2%.

L’Oreal is down nearly 2%. Dassault Systemes is lower by 1.5% and STMicroElectronics is down 1.1% after the company cut its earnings outlook.

In the German market, Fresenius is climbing more than 6.5%. Fresenius Medical Care is up 1.8%, while BASF, Brenntag, HeidelbergCement, SIemens and Deutsche Post are rising 1 to 1.5%.

SAP, Infineon, Adidas, Henkel, Beiersdorf, Siemens Healthineers and Siemnes Energy are down 0.6 to 1.4%.

On the economic front, data from Destatis showed Germany’s producer prices increased at the weakest pace in the current sequence of growth started in 2020 amid a continued fall in energy costs.

The producer price index (PPI) edged up 0.1% y-0-y in June, slower than the 1% rise in May. Economists had expected prices to remain flat for the month. On a monthly basis, producer prices decreased at a lower rate of 0.3% in June versus a 1.4% fall in May.

Data from the statistical office INSEE showed the French manufacturing sentiment index came in at its long-term average of 100.0 in July, the same as in June, and in line with economists’ expectations. The overall business confidence index stayed stable for the second straight month at 100.0 in July.

A report from the European Central Bank said the euro area posted a surplus of EUR 9 billion in May compared to EUR 4 billion in April. In May 2022, the balance was in EUR 14 billion deficit.

Data from the Federal Customs Administration showed Switzerland’s trade surplus rose to CHF 9.92 billion in the second quarter from CHF 8.62 billion in the previous quarter.