European Stocks Close Higher Ahead Of Fed, BoE Policy Announcements

European stocks closed slightly higher on Wednesday after a cautious session as investors digested the latest batch of regional economic data and awaited the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement due later in the day, and the Bank of England’s policy announcement on Thursday.

The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rate by 25 basis points. The central bank’s summary of economic projections and Chair Jerome Powell’s comments are in focus.

The Bank of England is expected to leave rates unchanged.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.15%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.05% and France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.26%, while Germany’s DAX closed down 0.02%. Switzerland’s SMI ended down 0.87%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended higher.

Finland, Iceland, Norway, Portugal and Turkiye closed weak.

In the UK market, Melrose Industries climbed nearly 3%. IAG, British Land, Airtel Africa, Ashtead Group, Informa, Sage Group, HSBC Holdings, JD Sports Fashion, Lloyds Banking Group, IHG, Natwest Group, Berkeley Group Holdings, Standard Chartered and Rolls-Royce Holdings gained 1 to 2%.

Entain closed down by about 2.7%. Beazley, AstraZeneca, Persimmon, Hiscox, Rio Tinto and National Grid lost 1 to 1.6%.

In the German market, Infineon rallied more than 2%. Commerzbank, Volkswagen, Daimler Truck Holding and Sartorius gained 1 to 1.7%.

Symrise, Hannover Rueck, Beiersdorf, Henkel, E.ON and Munich RE lost 1 to 1.7%.

In the French market, Renault surged 5.4% after reports emerged that Honda and Nissan have initiated talks on a possible merger.

Vivendi gained about 3.5% and STMicroElectronics closed higher by about 2.5%. Teleperformance, Legrand, Safran, Schneider Electric, Saint-Gobain, TotalEnergies, Societe Generale and BNP Paribas gained 0.8 to 2%.

Pernod Ricard closed nearly 3% down. Dassault Systemes, Edenred, Danone, L’Oreal, Kering and Veolia ended moderately lower.

Revised data from Eurostat said Eurozone inflation grew at a slightly slower than initially estimated pace in November. The harmonized index of consumer prices rose 2.2% year-on-year in November, following a 2% increase in October. The rate was revised down from 2.3%.

Eurozone construction production expanded strongly in October after falling in the previous month. Construction output rose 1% monthly after a 0.3% fall in September. Further, this was the strongest growth since February 2023.

UK consumer price inflation accelerated as expected in November, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. The consumer price index posted an annual growth of 2.6%, up from 2.3% in October, the data showed. Inflation has remained above the 2% target for the second straight month.

Core inflation, excluding prices of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, advanced to 3.5% from 3.3%. The CPI goods rose 0.4% on year, reversing a 0.3% fall. Meanwhile, services cost inflation held steady at 5%.

The UK manufacturers expect another sharp decline in production over the coming three months in the wake of subdued demand, the latest Industrial Trends Survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed.

In the fourth quarter, output volumes decreased the most since August 2020. The corresponding balance fell to -25% from -12% in the quarter to November. A net 31% of manufacturers forecast output to fall again in the quarter to March.

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