European Stocks Close Higher As Investors Cheer Economic Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Wednesday, reacting positively to UK consumer price inflation data, and amid continued optimism about a sharp cut in U.S. interest rate in September.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.49%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.56%, Germany's DAX ended 0.41% up, and France's CAC 40 jumped 0.79%, while Switzerland's SMI rallied 1.2%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain amd Sweden closed higher.

Belgium, Denmark, Russia and Turkiye ended weak.

In the UK market, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Entain gained about 5% and 4.5%, respectively. Berkeley Group Holdings, Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey, BT Group, Persimmon, Marks & Spencer, Smith (DS), Vistry Group, BAE Systems and Phoenix Group Holdings gained 2 to 4%.

Flutter Entertainment shares Jumped more than 10% after the world's largest online betting firm reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook.

Rio Tinto, Anglo American Plc, Spirax Group, Beazley, Croda International and Glencore ended down 0.5 to 1.6%.

In the German market, Rheinmetall gained more than 2% after it signed an agreement to acquire all equity interests in Loc Performance Products, LLC, a renowned vehicle specialist based in Plymouth, Michigan, for an enterprise value of US$950 million.

Hannover Rueck, Adidas, Munich RE, Mercedes-Benz, Puma, HeidelbergCement, Porsche, Deutsche Post, MTU Aero Engines, Fresenius and Siemens Healthineers gained 1 to 2.3%.

RWE tumbled more than 5.5%. E.ON ended down nearly 3%. Zalando closed lower by nearly 2%, and Brenntag drifted down 1.3%.

In the French market, Hermes International climbed more than 2%. LVMH, Stellantis, Michelin, Schneider Electric, Legrand, Carrefour, Danone, Teleperformance and L'Oreal gained 1 to 2%.

In the Swiss market, UBS shares moved up 5.3% after reporting a $1.1 billion net profit last quarter, about double what analysts expected.

Straumann Holding soared 13.3%. The dental implant maker raised its guidance for 2024 and also announced the sale of its DrSmile aligner business.

On the economic front, the euro area economy posted a steady growth as initially estimated in the second quarter, flash estimate published by Eurostat showed.

Gross domestic product climbed 0.3% in the three months to June, which was similar to the first quarter growth and matched the estimate published on July 30.

UK consumer price inflation increased for the first time in seven months in July, with the index moving up 2.2% in the month from a year ago, following June's 2% increase, the Office for National Statistics reported.

Month-on-month, consumer prices fell 0.2%, in contrast to the 0.1% rise in June.

Consumer price inflation in France rose slightly to 2.3% in July from 2.2% in June, in line with the flash data published on July 31. This slight rise in inflation was largely due to an 8.5% surge in energy prices due to higher gas prices. EU-harmonised inflation also rose to 2.7% from 2.5% in the prior month.