Europe close: Stocks rise amid mixed US data
European stocks rose, bouncing back from three days of losses as expectations of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve were pushed back following disappointing US data out in the previous session.
Burberry Group
1,147.50p
11:05 25/04/24
Casino Guichard Perrachon
€0.03
11:04 25/04/24
Food Producers & Processors
8,083.10
10:59 25/04/24
FTSE 100
8,093.64
11:05 25/04/24
FTSE 350
4,445.05
11:05 25/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,398.63
11:05 25/04/24
Personal Goods
16,093.90
11:04 25/04/24
Syngenta AG
n/a
n/a
Unilever
4,068.00p
11:05 25/04/24
The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index ended the day 1.46% higher, Germany’s DAX was up by 1.5% and France’s CAC 40 advanced 1.44%.
As of Thursday, Fed funds futures were pricing in approximately a 29% probability that the Fed would move on rates come December.
“Overall sentiment is mixed, however with US rates not likely to go up any time soon, China stabilising and markets having come off substantially from their highs over the past few months some feel increasingly tempted to take advantage of generally lower valuations and are willing to pour money back into stocks,” said Markus Huber, senior analyst at Peregrine & Black.
Data released by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics showed US consumer prices were unchanged year-on-year in September (consensus: -0.2%), while at the core level they edged higher unexpectedly to 1.9%.
However, two widely followed surveys of manufacturing activity in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US pointed to on-going weakness in the sector.
A gauge of new manufacturing orders contained in the so-called Philly Fed survey declined to a reading of -10.6 in October after a print of 9.4 for the month before.
On the corporate front, shares in household goods giant Unilever rallied after it posted a jump in revenue for the third quarter and said it now expects underlying sales growth for the year to be towards the top end of its target range.
Stock in Casino surged after the French supermarket chain’s third-quarter sales beat analysts’ expectations.
On the downside, luxury fashion retailer Burberry tumbled after saying sales in the second quarter slowed as the market, particularly for Chinese customers, became “increasingly challenging”.
Syngenta moved higher even after the Swiss agricultural chemicals company said sales in the third quarter fell 12% on the year to $2.6bn.
In London, bank stocks were in focus after the Bank of England said it will require UK banks to hold up to £3.3bn of capital under new ring-fencing rules designed to make their retail operations more resilient to potential market crashes.