European Stocks Shrug Off Mid-session Setback, Close On Positive Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks shrugged off a mid morning setback and moved higher on Thursday, eventually snapping a five-day losing streak, as data showing a bigger than expected drop in Germany's consumer price inflation helped underpin sentiment.

The mood was cautious in most of the markets for much of the day's session with the focus on some key economic data from the U.S.

Stocks drifted down earlier in the session amid persistent fears of higher U.S. interest rates and concerns over China's beleaguered property market.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.36%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.11%, Germany's DAX gained 0.7% and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.63%, while Switzerland's SMI ended 0.33% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed higher.

Belgium and Turkiye edged up marginally, while Greece, Iceland, Norway, Poland and Portugal ended weak.

In the UK market, Ferguson rallied 4%. Smiths, Anglo American Plc, CRH, Antofagasta, Rentokil Initial and Rio Tinto gained 2 to 3.4%.

IHG, Glencore, Bunzl, Carnival, 3i, Burberry Group, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, TUI and Rolls-Royce Holdings also ended notably higher.

Barratt Developments tanked 7.6%. Pennon ended lower by 7%. Phoenix Holdings ended nearly 7% down after reporting a narrow pre-tax loss for the first half of 2023.

M&G, United Utilities, Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, British Land Company, British American Tobacco, Royal Mail, Vodafone and Centrica also declined sharply.

In Germany, MTU Aero Engines surged nearly 4%. HeidelbergCement, Continental, Deutsche Boerse, Siemens Healthineers, Infineon and Daimler Truck Holding gained 1.5 to 3%.

Zalando drifted down 2.2%. E.ON, Vonovia and Puma lost 1.3 to 1.6%.

In Paris, ArcelorMittal, Airbus Group, STMicroElectronics, Stellantis, Hermes International, Credit Agricole, Renault and Saint Gobain ended higher by 1 to 2.3%.

TotalEnergies climbed 1.1% after the company sold 40% stake in Block 20 in the Kwanza Basin in Angola to Petronas for $400 million.

WorldLine declined about 2.4%. Eurofins Scientific and Veolia ended lower by 1.7% and 1.4%, respectively.

In the Polish market, discount retailer Pepco Group N.V. tumbled 21% after cutting its profit outlook for the second time in a month.

On the economic front, Germany inflation slowed in September to the lowest since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, provisional data from Destatis showed.

The consumer price index registered an annual increase of 4.5% in September, following a 6.1% rise in August. This was the lowest rate since February 2022, when inflation stood at 4.3% and also weaker than economists' forecast of 4.6%.

Likewise, excluding food and energy, core inflation softened to 4.6% from 5.5% in the previous month.

Spain's consumer price inflation accelerated for the third straight month in September to the highest level in five months, flash data from the statistical office INE showed.

The consumer price index rose 3.5% year-over-year in September, faster than the 2.6% increase in August. That was in line with expectations.

Separate official data showed that the annual retail sales growth in Spain moderated to 7% in August from 7.7% in July.

Eurozone economic confidence weakened in September largely driven by the deterioration in sentiment among consumers, survey results from the European Commission showed on Thursday. The economic confidence index fell to 93.3 in September from 93.6 in the previous month. But the reading was above economists' forecast of 92.5.