© Reuters
peter nurse
Investing.com – European stock markets are expected to open in a mixed fashion on Wednesday as investors digest the latest inflation data from the UK and a dovish signal from the Bank of Japan.
At 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT), the German contract traded 0.2% higher, while the French contract was up 0.2%, while the UK contract was down 0.1%.
In the UK, it rose at an annualized rate of 10.5% in December, down from 10.7% the previous month, but unchanged at 0.4% from November.
While this level remains very high, the year-on-year decline in figures has played into the broader narrative that inflation has peaked in the West, prompting central banks to consider slowing the pace of rate hikes. I can.
European equities received a broadly positive handover from Asia on Wednesday after holding the current yield curve control range, confusing market expectations for a wider bank target range that could lead to a tightening of monetary policy. I let
The central bank said it would keep interest rates at record lows and maintain accommodative policy for the time being.
The final December release is scheduled for the second half of the session and is expected to see annual growth of 9.2%, down from 10.1% the previous month.
The market has been waiting for more clues about the US economy from a series of Fed speakers, but December saw a 0.8% decline, providing further impetus for the Fed to slow the pace of rate hikes. I’m here.
In company news, Barry Callebaut (SIX:), the world’s largest chocolate maker, said Wednesday that sales volumes were down 5.1% in the three months to the end of November.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, boosting optimism that the removal of COVID restrictions from the Chinese economy will lead to a sharp rebound in fuel demand in China, this year’s biggest oil consumer, upping the gains of the previous session. Expanded.
Global oil demand forecasts were unchanged at 2.22 million barrels per day, according to a monthly report released on Tuesday, but China’s oil demand fell this year after contracting for the first time in years in 2022. It said it would add 510,000 barrels per day.
While it is set to report its weekly forecast for U.S. crude oil reserves a day later than usual after the U.S. holiday on Monday, it will release its monthly report later in the day.
By 02:00 ET, the contract was up 0.9% to $86.70, trading 1.1% higher at $81.33 a barrel. Both contracts surged more than 2% on Tuesday in a late-session rally.
It then dropped 0.2% to $1,906.35/oz and traded 0.1% higher at 1.0798.