European Shares Advance Ahead Of US Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks traded higher on Thursday amid optimism that cooling inflation will lead to an end to Fed rate hikes this year.

The U.S. inflation report for December due later in the day is expected to show further softening in prices from the previous month.

Boston Federal Reserve bank leader Susan Collins remarked to the New York Times that she was in favor of raising interest rates to just above 5 percent this year.

The pan European STOXX 600 rose half a percent to 449.77 after gaining 0.4 percent on Wednesday.

The German DAX, France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were up between half a percent and 0.8 percent.

Logitech, a Swiss manufacturer of software and computer peripherals, plunged almost 13 percent after cutting its sales outlook.

Roche gained half a percent after saying it had received European Commission approval for Xofluza in children aged one year and above.

Sports car manufacturer Porsche AG rose over 1 percent after reporting higher deliveries in fiscal 2022.

British retailer Tesco dropped half a percent after keeping its full-year profit guidance.

Telecom major Vodafone Group jumped 3.4 percent as it announced appointment of Aldo Bisio as the Group Chief Commercial Officer, effective January 12, in addition to his current role as CEO of Vodafone Italy.

Hilton Food Group soared 7.2 percent. After posting FY22 results in line with expectations, the food packing business said it is well-placed given encouraging progress to pass through and mitigate inflationary cost increases.

Marks & Spencer fell over 2 percent after maintaining its profit guidance.

British Gas owner Centrica rallied 5.6 percent after raising its profit forecast. Homebuilder Persimmon surged 4.4 percent despite warning of a slowdown in housing demand.

China-sensitive Kering rose over 1 percent in Paris on optimism over improvement in consumer demand ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.

Sugar producer Suedzucker AG fell 2.4 percent despite reporting higher nine-month results, and confirming its fiscal 2023 outlook.