BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS, Aug 15 (Bernama-dpa-AFX) — European stocks ended Wednesday on a positive note, buoyed by favourable UK consumer price inflation data and continued optimism about a potential sharp interest rate cut in the US in September, reported dpa-AFX news.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.49 per cent. The UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.56 per cent, Germany’s DAX ended 0.41 per cent up, and France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.79 per cent, while Switzerland’s SMI rallied 1.2 per cent.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden closed higher. Belgium, Denmark, Russia and Turkey ended weak.
On the economic front, the eurozone’s economy posted a steady growth as initially estimated in the second quarter, flash estimate published by Eurostat showed. Gross domestic product climbed 0.3 per cent in the three months to June, which was similar to the first quarter growth and matched the estimate published on July 30.
UK consumer price inflation increased for the first time in seven months in July, with the index moving up 2.2 per cent in the month from a year ago, following June’s 2 per cent increase, the Office for National Statistics reported. Month-on-month, consumer prices fell 0.2 per cent, in contrast to the 0.1 per cent rise in June.
Consumer price inflation in France rose slightly to 2.3 per cent in July from 2.2 per cent in June, in line with the flash data published on July 31. This slight rise in inflation was largely due to an 8.5 per cent surge in energy prices due to higher gas prices. EU-harmonised inflation also rose to 2.7 per cent from 2.5 per cent in the prior month.
–BERNAMA-dpa-AFX