European Shares Gain On Inflation Optimism

(RTTNews) - European stocks were moving higher on Tuesday as investors pinned hopes that key U.S. inflation data for January due later in the day will show downward pressure on prices year-on-year.

U.S. consumer prices are expected to show a monthly increase in January, although the annual rate of growth is expected to slow to 6.2 percent from 6.5 percent in the previous month.

A hotter-than-expected reading might force the Fed into a more aggressive posture. Options trades show some investors are anticipating a peak rate of 6 percent by September.

Meanwhile, Germany's wholesale prices increased at the slowest pace in twenty-one months in January, Destatis reported earlier today.

The wholesale price index rose 10.6 percent year-on-year in December, slower than the 12.8 percent rise in November.

Elsewhere, new data showed that U.K. employment rate remained steady in the final three months of 2022.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose half a percent to 464.10 after gaining 0.9 percent in the previous session.

The German DAX edged up 0.3 percent, while France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both added around 0.4 percent.

Coca-Cola HBC rallied more than 3 percent in London. The consumer-packaged goods business and strategic bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company reported that its full year 2022 comparable net profit grew by 8.1 percent from prior year, due to higher operating profitability.

Holiday group TUI jumped 3.4 percent. The company said recent bookings for the upcoming summer are running ahead of pre-pandemic levels.

German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp plunged nearly 6 percent after its operating profit fell by a third in the first quarter.

SGL Carbon fell about 1 percent on news that Susanne Klatten would step down as chairwoman of the supervisory board for personal reasons.