Investing.com - European stock markets mostly rose Thursday, boosted by solid corporate earnings, although weak UK economic growth weighed on sentiment.
At 06:55 ET (11:55 GMT), the DAX index in Germany climbed 0.1%, briefly hitting an all-time high, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in the UK gained 0.7%.
The pan-European STOXX 600 had also climbed to its highest since mid-December, helped by solid quarterly earnings from a number of the region’s major companies.
Auto manufacturers in spotlight
In corporate news, Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) stock rose 1.1% after the auto giant reported its fourth quarter shipments were down 9% compared to the previous year, to 1.395 million vehicles.
Stellantis, currently focused on reducing bloated inventories, said numbers were an improvement compared to the third quarter, when global shipments were down 20% year-on-year.
Renault (EPA:RENA) stock rose 3.8% after the French automaker said sales grew by 1.3% in 2024, with a strong fourth quarter driven by new launches helping to offset weak demand earlier in the year.
Richemont (SIX:CFR) soared 16% after the owner of Cartier jewellery beat market expectations for third-quarter sales, in a positive sign for the high-end of the luxury sector over the all-important holiday season.
Among other notable stocks, Zalando (ETR:ZALG) jumped 14% after Europe’s biggest online retailer said it expected profit in 2024 to beat its own forecasts, while Orion (HE:ORNAV) added 5% after the Finnish drugmaker hiked its 2024 revenue and operating profit outlook.
Elsewhere, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) reported a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter profit, as the world’s biggest contract chipmaker continued to benefit from strong artificial intelligence-fueled demand for its advanced chips.
Optimism post tame US inflation
The drop in core US inflation and strong earnings from a number of major US banks helped the major Wall Street indices register on Wednesday their biggest daily percentage gains since Nov. 6 - the day after the U.S. presidential election.
This optimism fed into the European market, although it has been tempered by data showing Britain’s economic output rose for the first time in three months in November but by less than expected, edging up by 0.1% from October.
Additionally, German consumer prices rose 0.5% on the month in December, slightly above the 0.4% expected, and rebounding from the drop of 0.2% seen in November.
Crude hand back some gains
Oil prices fell Thursday, slipping back from recent highs, driven by a combination of softer US inflation data, new sanctions on Russian oil, and significant drawdowns in US crude inventories.
By 06:55 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) slipped 0.9% to $77.99 a barrel, while the Brent contract traded 1% lower to $81.18 a barrel.
Oil prices rose more than 2% on Wednesday, to their highest levels since July, as a benign US inflation report brought expectations of softer monetary policy back into play, potentially supporting economic growth.
Supporting the bullish sentiment, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a drawdown in crude oil inventories of 2 million barrels, indicating a tightening of supply.