European Shares Edge Higher As Inflation Worries Ease

(RTTNews) - European shares traded higher on Thursday as benign U.S. inflation readings kept the door open for potential rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year. That said, regional gains were capped by weaker-than-expected U.K. GDP data released this morning.

The U.K. economy expanded slightly in November after two consecutive contractions, the Office for National Statistics reported earlier today.

Gross domestic product grew 0.1 percent on a monthly basis in November, following an unrevised fall of 0.1 percent in October. Analysts had expected GDP to grow 0.2 percent.

Elsewhere, Germany's consumer price inflation accelerated as initially estimated in December to the highest level in nearly a year, according to final data from Destatis.

The consumer price index rose 2.6 percent in December, faster than the 2.2 percent increase in November. That was in line with the flash data published on January 7.

Further, this was the highest inflation rate since January, when prices had risen 2.9 percent. EU-harmonized inflation held steady at 2.8 percent in December as the rate for November was revised upwardly from 2.4 percent.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.6 percent at 518.06, after having climbed 1.3 percent on Wednesday to snap a three-day losing streak and clock its best performance since August 2024.

The German DAX was up 0.2 percent, France's CAC 40 surged 1.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added half a percent ahead of the release of ECB meeting minutes and U.S. weekly jobless claims and retail sales reports due later in the day.

On the earnings front, quarterly earnings results from Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and UnitedHealth are due before the U.S. opening bell.

Shares of Richemont, the owner of Cartier and other high-end brands, surged 14 percent after reporting better-than-expected sales for its third quarter.

Renault jumped 4 percent. The French automaker said sales volume grew by 1.3 percent in 2024 amid increased electric vehicle adoption.

Stellantis rose 1.1 percent despite reporting a 9 percent fall in fourth-quarter shipments.

Antofagasta rallied 3 percent despite reporting flat 2024 copper output.