Please try another search
© Reuters
By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - European stock markets climbed higher Wednesday, continuing the positive start to the new year helped by more positive economic data.
At 04:35 ET (09:35 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 1.1% higher, the CAC 40 in France traded up 1.1%, and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. climbed 0.2%.
French inflation unexpectedly fell in December, according to provisional data on Wednesday, with the EU-harmonized annual inflation rate dropping to 6.7% during the month, down from 7.1% in November, continuing the positive news from neighboring Germany earlier this week.
Additionally, Eurozone business activity contracted less than initially thought at the end of last year as price pressures eased, with the region's final composite Purchasing Managers' Index rising to 49.3 in December from November's 47.8.
These numbers suggest the European Central Bank could pause its monetary tightening earlier than previously expected, potentially contributing to the Eurozone's recession not being as deep as expected.
Later in the session, there are more U.S. employment numbers scheduled as well as the minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting.
Investors will likely comb through the report for any hints on what Fed policymakers are thinking on the direction of interest rates. The current market sentiment is expecting a quarter-percentage point increase in the benchmark rate at the Fed's next meeting, while divergence between doves and hawks regarding how high the terminal rate should go will also be of interest.
Oil prices fell Wednesday, continuing the weak start to the new year, on concerns that economic activity will be hit by a global recession and thus weigh on demand in 2023.
This followed comments by the head of the International Monetary Fund, who warned that much of the global economy would see a tough year in 2023 as the main engines of global growth - the United States, Europe, and China - are all experiencing weakening activity.
The industry group American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to release weekly data on U.S. crude inventories later in the session, a day later than usual following Monday’s holiday.
By 04:35 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 1.8% lower at $75.53 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 1.9% to $80.55. Both contracts fell over 4% on Tuesday.
Additionally, gold futures rose 1.2% to $1,867.25/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.7% higher at 1.0623.
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.