European Shares Mostly Higher In Cautious Trade

European stocks were broadly higher on Friday as bond yields eased amid bets of an interest-rate cut at next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

The U.S. central bank is almost certain to start its rate-cutting cycle next week, but analysts are looking for clues on the size of cuts over the next few months.

In economic releases, Eurostat reported that Eurozone industrial production dropped 0.3 percent month-on-month in July, as expected.

France’s inflation eased more than estimated in August and reached the lowest since July 2021, revised data from the statistical office INSEE showed.

Consumer prices posted an annual increase of 1.8 percent in August, following a 2.3 percent rise in July. The August rate was revised down from 1.9 percent and marked the weakest since July 2021.

Elsewhere, a Bank of England survey showed British public’s expectations for inflation over the coming year dropped to its lowest in three years.

An interest rate cut from the Bank of England next week looks unlikely due to mixed signals regarding price pressures.

That said, a 0.25 percentage point reduction is fully priced for November and investors are now looking for clues on its quantitative tightening program.

The pan European STOXX 600 was up half a percent at 51.39 after climbing 0.8 percent on Thursday.

The German DAX gained half a percent, France’s CAC 40 added 0.4 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was marginally higher.

The euro edged higher, a day after the European Central Bank cut the deposit interest rate by 25 basis points, as expected, but provided almost no clues to its future steps.

ECB official Joachim Nagel stated that inflation in the euro zone is going in the right direction and the inflation target is likely to be reached at the end of next year.

In corporate news, Worldline shares plummeted nearly 17 percent in Paris after the payment group announced the departure of its CEO Gilles Grapinet and cut its 2024 revenue and core earnings guidance.

Mining stocks were broadly higher as copper prices surged ahead of a major Chinese holiday. Antofagasta rose half a percent and Glencore added 0.8 percent.

Drug maker AstraZeneca fell 2.5 percent after a rating downgrade from Deutsche Bank.
Unilever rose half a percent after launching the second and final phase of its substantial €1.5 billion share buyback program.

Vodafone shares were up 0.7 percent. The company said it disagrees with the CMA’s provisional findings that its merger with Three UK raises competition concerns and could lead to price rises for customers.

Commerzbank shares rallied 1.7 percent. The head of Germany’s central bank said that authorities would take a “very close look” at UniCredit’s overtures to potentially buy the German bank.

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