Major European Markets Close Higher As Investors React Positively To U.S. Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - The major European markets closed higher on Wednesday with investors reacting positively to U.S. consumer price inflation data, which came in line with expectations, and looking ahead to the European Central Bank' monetary policy announcement on Thursday.

The U.S. Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.3% in November after rising by 0.2% for four straight months. The increase matched expectations. The annual rate of growth by consumer prices ticked up to 2.7% in November from 2.6% in October, which was also in line with estimates.

The Labor Department also said core consumer prices in November jumped by 3.3% compared to the same month a year ago, unchanged from October and in line with estimates.

With the data matching expectations, the report has increased confidence the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by another quarter point next week.

Market participants also awaited the outcome of China's two-day Central Economic Work Conference that is expected to map out policies for next year.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.28%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.26%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.34% and France's CAC 40 closed higher by 0.39%. Switzerland's SMI closed up 0.34%.

Among other markets in Europe, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands and Portugal ended higher.

Belgium, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak, while Austria, Greece and Norway ended flat.

In the UK market, Endeavour Mining climbed nearly 6%. Pearson rallied 3.35%. Reckitt Benckiser, Fresnillo, Lloyds Banking Group, IAG, Rentokil Initial, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Anglo American Plc, Diageo, IHG, BAE Systems, Persimmon, Haleon, Bunzl and Entain gained 1 to 3%.

RM Plc shares jumped more than 8%. The provider of educational technology and assessment solutions said its anticipated results for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2024, are likely to exceed market expectations.

GSK, British Land, Segro, Severn Trent, DCC, Ashtead Group, Land Securities, Smith (DS), BT Group, National Grid, Scottish Mortgage, Shell, Frasers Group, Marks & Spencer and Vodafone Group closed down 1 to 2.5%.

In the German market, Siemens Energy gained more than 3%, rebounding strongly after a weak start. The stock fell earlier in the session after U.S. rival GE Vernova sounded cautious about the outlook for the struggling wind sector.

Zalando dropped more than 6% in early trades after the company struck a deal to buy rival fashion group About You Holding for 1.1 billion euros. However, it shrugged off early weakness and moved higher to settle with a gain of nearly 2%.

Vonovia, HeidelbergCement, Fresenius and Rheinmetall also posted strong gains.

Siemens, Beiersdorf, Henkel, Allianz, Symrise, MTU Aero Engines and Siemens Healthineers also closed notably higher.

RWE lost nearly 2%. BMW and Bayer closed lower by about 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively.

In the French market, Publicis Groupe surged 3.5% thanks to a rating upgrade by JPMorgan. Safran, Essilor, Schneider Electric, Legrand, LVMH, Accor, Hermes International, Societe Generale and Thales gained 1 to 2.3%.

Teleperformance closed nearly 3% down. Orange, TotalEnergies, Vivendi, Carrefour and L'Oreal also ended notably lower.