European Stocks Close Higher Again As Markets React To Earnings, Economic Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Wednesday, extending recent gains, as investors continued to react to earnings updates and looked ahead to the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting.

With recent data showing the pressure of rising borrowing costs on the economy, analysts are hoping that the Federal Reserve will likely to slowdown the pace of interest rate hike in the coming months.

Data showing an unexpected improvement in French consumer confidence contributed a bit to the positive sentiment.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.66%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 moved up 0.61% and Germany's DAX gained 1.09%, while France's CAC 40 and Switzerland's SMI both ended higher by 0.41%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended with sharp to moderate gains.

Belgium and Russia drifted lower, while Greece, Netherlands and Turkiye settled flat.

In the UK market, Antofagasta rallied more than 7%. Fresnilo gained about 4.3% after posting solid quarterly production figures and backing its 2022 production guidance.

Anglo American Plc, RightMove, Kingfisher, Melrose Industries, Rentokil Initial, Harbour Energy, JD Sports Fashion, Astrazeneca, RS Group, Rio Tinto, Glencore, Ashtead Group and Dechra Pharmaceuticals gained 2.5 to 4.3%.

Standard Chartered fell more than 5%. Reckitt Benckiser shed about 4.1% after reporting a decline in sales volumes in the third quarter.

Coca-Cola HBC drifted down 2.5%, while Whitbread, Haleo, Unilever, Diageo, National Grid and Scottish Mortgage lost 1 to 2%.

In the German market, Zalando surged more than 6.5%. Fresenius gained about 4% and Symrise climbed nearly 3%. Linde, Merck, HeidelbergCement, HelloFresh, Covestro, Bayer, Munich RE, Deutsche Wohnen, Deutsche Post and MTU Aero Engines ended higher by 1.4 to 2.5%.

In Paris, Atos soared more than 14%. Thales and Sodexo both gained nearly 4%. WorldLine, Faurecia, Legrand, ArcelorMittal, Accor, Vinci, Airbus, Air France-KLM, Safron and Sanofi gained 1.3 to 3%.

Dassault Systemes, Publicis Groupe, Michelin, Unibail Rodamco and Carrefour ended with sharp to moderate losses.

Dutch stock Heineken plunged more than 5%. After beer sales missed estimates, the world's second-largest brewer warned that it is seeing signs of weakness in consumer demand.

On the economic front, France's consumer confidence improved unexpectedly in October, after weakening slightly in the previous month as households were slightly less pessimistic regarding an improvement in the cost of living in the next months, survey results from the statistical office Insee showed.

The consumer confidence index rose to 82.0 in October from 79 in the previous month. The score was forecast to fall to 77.0.

Eurozone bank lending to businesses increased in September at the fastest pace since early 2009, data published by the European Central Bank showed.

Loans to businesses grew at a pace of 8.9% annually, slightly faster than August's 8.8% rise. This was the biggest increase since January 2009, when lending grew 9.2%.

German exporters' expectations improved moderately in October despite rising energy prices and prospects of a recession, a survey conducted by the ifo Institute showed on Wednesday.

The export expectations index climbed to -5.3 in October from -6.0 in the previous month. The September score was the weakest since May 2020.