European Shares Rise As Bond Yields Ease

(RTTNews) - European stocks edged higher on Wednesday as bond yields eased after the release of softer-than-expected U.S. producer inflation data.

All eyes now remain on the U.S. CPI data due later in the day that may shed more light on the path of Federal Reserve rates over the coming months.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.3 percent at 509.97, on track to snap a three-day losing streak.

The German DAX rose 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 was marginally higher and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.7 percent.

The British pound bounced back after reacting wildly to data showing that U.K. consumer price inflation moderated unexpectedly in December.

The consumer price index registered an annual increase of 2.5 percent in December, weaker than the 2.6 percent rise in November, prompting traders to price in a higher number of BoE interest rate cuts for the year.

Meanwhile, U.K. retailers plan to increase prices this year in response to increased National Insurance costs, according to a survey of Chief Financial Officers, conducted by the British Retail Consortium.

Two-thirds of respondents said they will lift prices and around half said they would be reducing number of hours/overtime work.

In other economic news, German wholesale prices rose 0.1 percent year-on-year in December, reversing a 0.6 percent drop in November, data from Destatis revealed earlier today This was the first increase since May 2023.

In corporate news, Hays advanced 1.7 percent despite the recruiter reporting another fall in quarterly fees amid an ongoing slowdown in the headhunting market.

Serco added 1.6 percent after winning a $247m contract from the U.S. Army.

German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex jumped 1.8 percent after an announcement that it has significantly increased its order intake last year to 8.34GW, up from 7.36GW in 2023.