European stocks mostly edged higher Wednesday, as investors digested regional activity data ahead of a speech by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde later in the session.
At 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany climbed 0.4% and the CAC 40 in France gained 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 in the U.K. fell 0.1%.
Positive tone overnight European equities have received Wednesday a mostly positive handover from Asian stock markets as investors weighed rising expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut next week.
Wall Street indexes also ended modestly higher overnight, with the tech sector leading the gains.
December has historically been a good month for equity markets, and more gains are likely as investors look ahead to a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting next week, where a 25-basis-point cut is now 85% priced in.
ECB President set to speak Back in Europe, ECB President Christine Lagarde is set to give a speech later in the day, with investors set to study her comments, looking for clues on the central bank’s rate outlook.
Eurozone inflation accelerated to 2.2% last month from 2.1% in October, a small rise that is unlikely to be too concerning given it remains near the central bank’s 2% target.
"We have practically achieved (our goal), and the inflation rate will continue to fluctuate around this value in the near future," ECB policymaker Joachim Nagel, who heads the Bundesbank, told German magazine Stern on Tuesday.
Eurozone composite purchasing managers’ indices for November are also due for release later in the session, and are expected to show a gradually improving economic outlook.
Inditex reports jump in revenue In the European corporate sector, Inditex (BME:ITX), the world’s largest listed clothing retailer, reported a rise in revenue of 10.6% in the four weeks to December 1, highlighting its resilience in the face of weakening consumer sentiment that is hitting most fashion retailers.
German fashion group Hugo Boss (ETR:BOSSn) said that it aims to achieve an operating profit margin of around 12% over the medium-to-long term as part of a strategic overhaul.
Airbus (EPA:AIR) lowered its commercial aircraft delivery target to around 790 aircraft for 2025, citing a supplier quality issue on fuselage panels impacting its A320 line.
Crude prices edge higher Oil prices edged higher Wednesday as an immediate deal to end the war in Ukraine looks unlikely, keeping in play for now a persistent threat to supply.
Brent futures climbed 0.5% to $62.74 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.5% to $58.94 a barrel.
Russia and the U.S. did not come to an agreement on a possible peace deal for Ukraine after a lengthy meeting between Russia President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner late Tuesday.
Oil markets are awaiting the outcome of the talks to see if a deal could lead to the removal of sanctions on Russian companies that would free up restricted oil supply.
