European stocks rose on Thursday, led by media and travel stocks, as signs of slowing US inflation gave some relief to investors worried about the impact of the US Federal Reserve’s tightening monetary policy.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq touched its highest level in more than eight months on Wednesday, buoyed by a slightly smaller-than-expected increase in inflation figures for April that revived hopes that the Federal Reserve would halt its June rate hike cycle.
And the annual inflation rate in America continued its decline for the tenth month in a row last April, recording 4.9 percent, at its lowest level since May 2021, so that the numbers are better than analysts’ estimates, which expected it to stabilize at 5 percent, unchanged from March.
Despite the positive situation in the markets, caution remains prevailing with anticipation of the results of the meetings between the White House and Republican members of Congress regarding the US public debt ceiling, which have so far reached a dead end, threatening the United States with default in early June.
stock movements
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.5% by 0822 GMT, after two straight days of losses.
ING Group rose 2.9 percent after the Dutch largest bank reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and announced a new share buyback program worth up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.65 billion).
Meanwhile, Bayer shares fell 5 percent, as the German group said that it is likely that its results will come at the lower end of its target range for 2023, affected by cost inflation and other factors.
Shares of mining and automobile companies led the declines among the European sectors, following the trading of shares of many companies, including “Volkswagen”, after the cash dividends’ due dates.
2023-05-11 08:46:08
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