European Stocks Close Higher On Ukraine Ceasefire Hopes, Tame U.S. CPI Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Wednesday, recovering from recent losses, as investors reacted to news about prospects of a ceasefire in Ukraine. Tamer than expected U.S. consumer price inflation data also aided sentiment.

Worries about fresh tariffs by the U.S., and concerns about the outlook for global economic growth limited markets' upside.

Kyiv has reportedly agreed to a US-proposal for an "immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire" if Russia agrees to the terms.

"A while ago, Ukraine has agreed to the ceasefire. Now we go to Russia and hopefully President Putin will agree to it also," U.S. President Trump said soon after the Jeddah announcement.

Data released by the Labor Department showed consumer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of February, edging up by 0.2%, after climbing by 0.5% in January. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.3%.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth slowed to 2.8% in February from 3% in January. Economists had expected the pace of price growth to edge down to 2.9%.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.81%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.53%, Germany's DAX ended 1.56% up, and France's CAC 40 settled higher by 0.59%. Switzerland's SMI closed 1.39% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Denmark, Finland, Norway, Russia and Spain ended weak.

In the UK market, Melrose Industries rallied about 6.5%. Spirax Group gained 5.8%, while Fresnillo and Rolls Royce Holdings ended higher by 4.7% and 4.5%, respectively.

Intermediate Capital Group, St. James's Place, Barclays Group, Natwest Group, Croda International, Informa, Standard Chartered, Games Workshop, Halma, Aviva and Hiscox advanced 2 to 3.4%.

IAG, Associated British Foods, Smith & Nephew, Persimmon, JD Sports Fashion, Kingfisher, Legal & General, BT Group, Reckitt Benckiser and Haleon lost 2 to 5%.

In the German market, Rheinmetall surged nearly 10% and Siemens Energy gained about 9%. Sartorius, MTU Aero Engines and Heidelberg Materials climbed 4 to 5.2%.

Fresenius, Allianz, Deutsche Bank, Brenntag, Continental, Munich RE, Siemens Healthineers, Commerzbank, Siemens, Hannover Rueck, SAP, Infineon, Deutsche Boerse and Qiagen closed higher by 1 to 3%.

Puma tanked nearly 20%. The sportswear maker gave a cautious outlook for the 2025 fiscal year, citing global trade tariffs and currency volatility. Looking ahead, for fiscal 2025, the company projects adjusted EBIT excluding one-time costs in a range between 520 million euros and 600 million euros.

In fiscal 2024, EBIT was 622 million euros with an EBIT margin of 7.1%, and currency-adjusted sales growth was 4.4%.

Porsche closed lower by about 3.2% after slashing profit targets for fiscal 2025. The company reported weak operating profit in fiscal 2024 amid lower sales and deliveries. The lower results were mainly due to the continuing market challenges in China.

In fiscal 2024, operating profit was 5.64 billion euros, down 22.6% from last year's 7.28 billion euros. Operating return on sales was 14.1%, lower than prior year's 18.0%.

Henkel closed down 3.4%, and Bayer ended lower by nearly 3%.

In the French market, Safran gained about 5%. Unibail Rodamco, Schneider Electric, AXA, Saint-Gobain, Thales, Essilor, Accor, Renault, Capgemini, BNP Paribas, Vinci, Air Liquide, Hermes International, Airbus Group and Legrand moved up 1 to 2.3%.

Edenred closed down 4.5%. Teleperformance ended lower by about 2.7%, while Sanofi, LVMH, ArcelorMittal and L'Oreal lost 1 to 2%.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the level of uncertainty is exceptionally high and maintaining stability has become difficult.

"The level of uncertainty we are facing is exceptionally high," she said at a conference organized by the Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability at Goethe University Frankfurt.

The central bank chief noted that uncertainties surrounding trade policy and geopolitical situations are too high. She said policymakers are facing a new two-sided shocks, mainly linked to trade and defense, as well as climate change, which can amplify or counteract the existing forces.

"Maintaining stability in a new era will be a formidable task," said Lagarde. "It will require an absolute commitment to our inflation target, the ability to parse which types of shocks will require a monetary reaction and the agility to react appropriately," the banker added.