European Shares Edge Higher After French, Spanish Inflation Data

European stocks traded slightly higher on Thursday after data showed Spanish inflation cooled sharply in February.

Also, French inflation eased to its weakest level since September 2021, fueling debate on when the European Central Bank would cut interest rates.

German inflation figures and the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge may garner investor attention later in the day, ahead of the euro area’s figures on Friday.

Earlier in the day, France’s payroll employment came in unchanged in the fourth quarter as initially estimated.

Destatis reported that German retail sales decreased 0.4 percent in January from the previous month, confounding expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent.

The unemployment rate in Germany stood at 5.9 percent in February, up from 5.8 percent reported in January.

The pan European STOXX 600 inched up 0.2 percent to 495.50 after losing 0.4 percent in the previous session.

The German DAX rose 0.4 percent, France’s CAC 40 inched up 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was marginally higher.

Staffing and training firm Adecco dropped 1.2 percent after sales volume weakened at the start of 2024.

Vesuvius, an engineered ceramics company, fell about 1 percent after reporting lower profit for the full year.

CRH, a provider of building materials solutions, soared 7 percent after pretax profit rose, reflecting good underlying demand in key end-use markets.

Indivior added 1 percent. The pharmaceutical company announced that its subsidiary, Indivior Inc., has received final Court approval for its settlement with the Direct Purchaser class, concluding the anti-trust multi-district litigation or MDL matter.

Likewise, GSK gained 1 percent after it agreed to confidentially settle another lawsuit in California.

British Airways owner IAG rose 1.4 percent after reporting a surge in annual profits.

Getlink jumped 3.6 percent in Paris after reporting an increase in FY23 profit and revenue.

Air France-KLM plunged 8 percent as it slipped to a loss in Q4.

Germany’s Beiersdorf lost 3 percent after the Nivea maker warned of slowing sales growth.

Semiconductor parts maker Aixtron plunged 14 percent despite Q4 revenue coming above expectations.

Wind turbine manufacturer Nordex jumped 5.3 percent after narrowing its full-year net loss.

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