European Shares Mixed As UK GDP Stagnates

RTTNews | 121 days ago

(RTTNews) - European stocks were mixed on Wednesday ahead of U.S. consumer inflation data due later in the day which could shed light on the size of a widely expected rate cut by the Federal Reserve at next week's policy meeting.

Focus was also on the European Central Bank (ECB), which is likely to reduce its own borrowing costs for the second time this year on Thursday.

The pan European STOXX 600 edged up 0.2 percent to 509.01 after falling half a percent on Tuesday.

The German DAX and France's CAC both were up around 0.2 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent.

The British pound ticked lower after official data showed the U.K. economy unexpectedly stagnated in July.

Real gross domestic product showed nil growth for the second straight month as falls in production and construction was offset by an increase in services output, the Office for National Statistics reported. GDP was forecast to grow 0.2 percent.

In the three months to July, GDP advanced 0.5 percent with strong contribution from services output.

Santander Bank Polska plunged 8.2 percent after parent Banco Santander sold a 5.2 percent stake in its Polish unit.

Energy giant BP Plc rose about 1 percent and Shell added 0.8 percent as oil prices climbed over 1 percent after falling to a 33-month low the previous day on demand concerns.

Online property website Rightmove gained half a percent after rejecting an initial cash and shares bid from Australia's REA Group.

Sustainable energy company Ricardo fell nearly 2 percent despite announcing profitable growth in FY2023/24.

GSK dropped nearly 1 percent. The drug maker said its experimental herpes simplex virus (HSV) vaccine candidate failed to meet the main goal of a mid-stage trial.

Pest-control giant Rentokil Initial plummeted 18 percent after a profit warning.

Commerzbank shares jumped 15 percent after Italian lender UniCredit took a 9 percent shareholding in the German bank and said it will seek approval to potentially buy more.

Automaker BMW rose slightly despite downgrading its 2024 outlook.

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