European markets open lower as UK inflation misses

Shares in Marks & Spencer rose on Wednesday, hitting levels last seen in early 2018, according to LSEG data. The company’s shares were last up 7.3% at 10:59 a.m. London time.

The British retailer on Wednesday said its profit before tax and regulatory items rose 58% year-on-year to reach £716.4 million ($912 million) in its full fiscal year ended March 30.

The company also said it was deepening its structural cost-cutting plan from £400m to £500m by 2028.

Sophie Kiderlin

Auto stocks led European markets lower on Wednesday, with the sector trailing 1.97% lower at 10:27 a.m. London time.

Concerns about the tariffs grew after China’s Global Times newspaper quoted an expert from a government-linked automotive research body as saying the world’s second-largest economy should temporarily raise import tariffs on gasoline-powered cars. big.

Tariffs could go as high as 25%, which would be the highest level possible under World Trade Organization rules, he said.

Sophie Kiderlin

Traders cut bets that the Bank of England will start cutting interest rates this summer after UK inflation figures came in hotter than expected.

While the headline rate fell sharply to 2.3% from 3.2%, that was below a forecast in a Reuters poll of 2.1%. Both core and utility inflation, which are being closely watched by the Bank of Albania, were also higher than forecast.

At 8:40 a.m. in London, overnight interest rate swaps indicated a 13% probability of a rate cut at the June meeting, down from about 50% before the press. The probability of a cut in August had fallen from 70% to 40%, with a bank rate cut not fully assessed until November.

of British pound jumped on the news, trading 0.3% higher against the US dollar at $1.274 and 0.27% higher against the euro at 1.174. Both were sterling’s highest levels against currencies since March, according to LSEG data.

Jenny Reid

European markets opened lower on Wednesday, with all major bourses starting the day in the red following the release of new UK inflation data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was last down 0.34% at 8:10 a.m. London time.

The UK’s FTSE 100 was meanwhile 0.52% lower, with Germany’s DAX down 0.4% and France’s CAC 40 down 0.43%.

Cars fell 2.3%, and oil and gas stocks lost 0.74%.

Sophie Kiderlin

UK inflation fell to 2.3% in April, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday, coming close to the Bank of England’s target rate but missing expectations.

The headline reading fell from 3.2% in March, but economists polled by Reuters had expected a bigger drop to 2.1%.

Core inflation, excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, fell to 3.9% in April from 4.2% in March.

Read the full story here.

Jenny Reid

Six AI-related stocks around the world have consistently reacted positively to Nvidiaquarterly results, according to CNBC Pro research.

The analysis comes ahead of Nvidia’s first-quarter earnings this year, which will be released on Wednesday after the stock markets close.

Five of the six stocks have each risen between 6% and 33% in the past after Nvidia disclosed early earnings.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the six stocks here.

“Ganesh Rao

Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Andrew Slimmon has been consistently bullish on stocks — even during periods of volatility.

While he fears a change in market conditions could cause “some sort of equity correction”, the senior portfolio manager believes it’s “clear sailing” for the stock for now.

“I think it will make sense to get a bit more defensive in the summer, but it’s too early for that,” he said. “Stick with a balance of growth and value names.”

He names four stocks to buy.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets are expected to open lower on Tuesday.

in the UK FTSE 100 the index is expected to open 43 points lower at 8381, that of Germany DAX down 60 points to 18708, France CAC 33 points down at 8,139 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 140 points to 34,788, according to data from IG.

Earnings come from Kingfisher, Smiths Group, Fresnillo and Generali. Eurozone trade and construction balance data for March are available.

— Holly Elliott