Cautious rise in Europe

European stocks traded lower on Wednesday as investors awaited US data on inflation, which is expected to show a new jump in prices to many years.

Analysts expect the data to show a 0.6% increase in consumer prices in October from the previous month, with the annual rise climbing close to 6% which is the highest level in the last 30 years.

The structural index, which does not include food and energy, is expected to show a monthly increase of 0.4% and a jump of 4.3% from the corresponding period last year.

Consumer price data follow yesterday’s producer price announcements which confirmed analysts’ estimates. Producer prices increased 0.6% on a monthly basis, while since October 2020 they recorded a jump of 8.6%, showing the highest increase in the last 11 years.

On the board, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index recorded small gains of 0.2% at 483.60 points.

The German DAX recorded marginal changes at 16,040.30 points, the French CAC 40 recorded small gains of 0.02% at 7,044.50 points, while the British FTSE 100 strengthened by 0.2% to 7,290.28 points.

In the region, the Italian FTSE MIB rose 0.4%, while the Spanish IBEX 35 rose 0.3%.

Concerns about the inflation rally in recent months and the possible impact on the course of monetary policy remain in the forefront after data released in China today showed that producer prices climbed to a 26-year high last month.

The data of the German statistical service for October also showed a strong rise in prices. In particular, prices increased by 4.5% on the basis of national standards and by 4.6% on a harmonized basis, according to Destatis.

In business developments, German Infineon jumped 1.8% as the semiconductor company’s sales for the last quarter exceeded analysts’ estimates. The share of the British Marks & Spencer reacted with a 15% rally after the announcement of the company that it revises its forecasts for the whole year.