- Most sectors experienced declines as the Stoxx 600 index fell by 0.5%.
- Industrial and technology equities declined 0.7%, while retail stocks sank 1%.
- Auto stocks initially gained 2% before cutting gains to 1.2% despite a general market downturn.
As investors got ready for the release of the most recent U.S. inflation statistics for August later today, European markets opened lower on Wednesday. Most sectors experienced declines as the Stoxx 600 index fell by 0.5%.
Industrial and technology equities declined 0.7%, while retail stocks sank 1%. Inditex, the owner of Zara and the largest apparel retailer in the world, saw its shares fall 1.2% despite releasing interim half-year results that exceeded forecasts and revealed a 14% increase in gross profit.
Europe markets
According to Dow Jones, economists anticipate a 3.6% increase in U.S. inflation from the previous year. It is anticipated that the core consumer price index would have increased 4.3% in August, down from the 4.7% increase in July.
Auto stocks initially gained 2% before cutting gains to 1.2% despite a general market downturn. A probe into Chinese government subsidies for the production of electric vehicles has been started by the European Commission.
With gains of 4.6% and 4.4%, respectively, Volvo and Renault led the Stoxx 600, while shares of Volkswagen increased by 2.5%. Gross domestic product fell by 0.5% in July, less than the 0.2% contraction predicted in a Reuters survey of experts, which was lower than the 0.5% contraction the UK economy dropped by in July.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the primary hindrance was a 0.5% fall in services output. After reaching their highest point since November 2022, oil prices increased due to supply concerns. ICE At 7 a.m. London time, WTI Crude futures were up 0.3% at $89.11, while Brent Crude futures with a November 2023 expiry were up 0.22% at $92.26 a barrel.
As a result of terrible storms that have claimed more than 1,000 lives, export terminals in Libya have been shut down. OPEC updated its prediction for demand for the remainder of the year in its monthly market report.
In a different report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted that oil stocks would fall globally in the fourth quarter and that Brent crude prices would average $93 per barrel throughout the period.
