European stocks were mixed on Wednesday amid worries over the U.S. debt ceiling and the potential for a catastrophic debt default.
Hawkish comments from a slew of Federal Reserve officials and growing concerns over China’s economic recovery also dented sentiment.
In economic releases, Eurozone inflation accelerated to 7.0 percent in April from 6.9 percent a month earlier, as rising services and energy costs offset a slowdown in food price growth, Eurostat said earlier in the day, confirming preliminary data.
The pan European STOXX 600 was down 0.2 percent at 463.96 after declining 0.4 percent on Tuesday.
The German DAX edged up 0.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was marginally lower, while France’s CAC 40 eased 0.2 percent.
Automakers traded mostly higher after industry data showed Europe’s new car registrations registered a double-digit growth in April but the pace of growth slowed from March.
Swiss bank UBS Group AG edged up slightly after saying it expects a financial hit of about $17 billion from the takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG.
Euronext tumbled 2.5 percent after the exchange operator saw an 11.7 percent year-over-year drop in its revenue from forex trading during first quarter 2023.
Munich Re gained about 1 percent. The German top reinsurer posted lower net result in the first quarter but beat expectations.
Siemens rose over 2 percent. The industrial conglomerate raised its annual revenue outlook after second-quarter profits nearly tripled on higher orders.
SAP added 1.6 percent after the business software maker raised its 2025 total revenue outlook for continuing operations and launched a share buyback program of up to 5 billion euros.
Lender Commerzbank slumped 7 percent despite profit nearly doubling in the first quarter.
The London Stock Exchange Group fell nearly 4 percent after an investor consortium sold shares worth about 2.7 billion pounds in the exchange operator.
Property firm British Land lost 6.6 percent after it swung to a pre-tax loss for fiscal 2023.
Sportswear chain JD Sports Fashion gave up 4.3 percent after reporting a lower pre-tax profit for fiscal 2023.
AstraZeneca gained about 1 percent after the drug maker reported positive high-level results in the latest lung cancer trials.
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