European Shares Broadly Lower Ahead Of Biden Speech

European shares were mixed on Wednesday as investors digested upbeat Chinese data and awaited details of U.S. President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan to be announced on Wednesday.

The Washington Post reports the first part of Biden’s infrastructure package could cost $2.25 trillion, with the focus on physical infrastructure, housing, clean energy and manufacturing, among others.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.1 percent to 431.17 in choppy trade after gaining 0.7 percent on Tuesday.

The German DAX was marginally lower, France’s CAC 40 index slid 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down about 0.3 percent.

Credit Suisse shares fell 2.6 percent to extend losses for a third day on worries about its losses linked to the downfall of Archegos Capital.

Swedish retailer H&M lost 2 percent after reporting a quarterly loss and confirming it would not propose a dividend at its annual general meeting.

Swiss drug major Roche gained 0.6 percent. The company announced the launch of Elecsys EBV panel in countries accepting the CE Mark and said it plans to file for approval with the FDA in the future.

Deliveroo shares slumped 30 percent on market debut as the takeaway delivery company faces criticism over its treatment of riders. Peer Just Eat Takeaway declined 1.6 percent.

Premium pubs and hotels business Fuller, Smith & Turner gave up 4 percent. The company said it expects full-year revenues in Managed Pubs and Hotels to be about 80 percent less than the previous year.

Capgemini shares advanced 1.3 percent. The business IT services provider has set new financial ambitions for the medium term.

Stratec SE, a manufacturer of automated analyzer systems, jumped nearly 3 percent after its fourth-quarter earnings per share climbed 76.1 percent.

In economic news, Eurozone consumer Inflation advanced to 1.3 percent in March, in line with expectations, from 0.9 percent in February, flash data from Eurostat revealed. This was the third consecutive rise in prices.

France’s consumer prices increased 1.1 percent year-on-year in March, faster than the 0.6 percent rise in February largely driven by a rebound in energy prices, preliminary data from the statistical office Insee showed.

The rate came in line with economists’ expectations and was the fastest since February 2020, when prices were up 1.4 percent.

U.K. GDP grew 1.3 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter instead of +1 percent estimated initially, the Office for National Statistics said. The economy had expanded sharply by 16.9 percent in the third quarter.

Over the whole year of 2020, GDP contracted by 9.8 percent, slightly revised from the first estimate of a 9.9 percent decline. This was the biggest contraction on record.

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