European shares inched higher on Wednesday, though the upside remained capped as investors awaited guidance from the Federal Reserve on the outlook for interest rates in the world’s largest economy in the face of rising inflation.
U.K. consumer price inflation rose to 5.1 percent in November from 4.2 percent in October, official data showed earlier today- standing well above the central bank’s 2 percent target.
This was the biggest rate since September 2011, when inflation stood at 5.2 percent. The rate was forecast to rise to 4.7 percent.
Another report showed that factory gate inflation increased at the fastest pace since September 2008. Output price inflation climbed to 9.1 percent in November from 8.6 percent in the previous month.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe index rose 0.4 percent to 471.58 after declining 0.8 percent on Tuesday.
The German DAX edged up 0.3 percent and France’s CAC 40 index climbed 0.6 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3 percent as miners and energy stocks declined amid falling copper and crude prices.
British Airways owner IAG fell about 1 percent after saying it has moved to back-track on its takeover of Spanish airline Air Europa.
Clothing company H&M Group dropped 1.5 percent despite reporting higher Q4 sales.
Similarly, Inditex, the world’s biggest fashion retailer, lost 2.3 percent despite reporting record sales and profits.
Generali advanced 1.4 percent. The Italian insurer said it would return up to 6.1 billion euros ($7 billion) to shareholders by 2024 in dividends and with its first buyback in 15 years.
Cineworld Group shares plunged as much as 26 percent in London after a Canadian court ordered the British cinema operator to pay C$1.24 billion ($965 million) in damages to Canada’s Cineplex for abandoning a planned takeover.
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