TSX runs higher on rate cut expectations
Investing.com - European stocks fell Friday, as investors digested consumer price increases from some of the region’s biggest economies ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
The DAX index in Germany dropped 0.5%, the CAC 40 in France slipped 0.8% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. fell 0.3%.
European, U.S. inflation in spotlight
Data released earlier Friday showed that French consumer prices rose slightly less than anticipated in August, with the country’s harmonised inflation rate coming in at +0.8% year-on-year in August, down from a +0.9% rise in July.
Spain’s European Union-harmonised 12-month inflation rate remained at 2.7% in August, from the period through July, and the equivalent German data is scheduled for later in the session, ahead of the flash August reading for the euro area next Tuesday.
The European Central Bank left its key rate at 2% at its July meeting, and data since then has confirmed the eurozone economy was holding up while inflation hovered at the ECB’s 2% target.
ECB policymakers are widely expected to hold rates unchanged again in September, but the minutes from the July meeting showed that they were divided on whether inflation was more likely to come in higher or lower moving forward.
The U.S. personal consumption expenditures report, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, took center stage later in the day. Data showed that the core PCE price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation, rose 0.3% on a monthly basis, putting the annual rate at 2.9%, its highest level in five months.
Remy Cointreau lifts annual guidance
In the European corporate sector, Remy Cointreau (EPA:RCOP) raised the lower end of its annual guidance after the United States and European Union agreed to cut planned tariffs on European wines and spirits in half, easing pressure on the French cognac maker’s earnings.
The revised trade agreement, effective August 1, set tariffs at 15%, down from the initially proposed 30%.
Norwegian construction company Af Gruppen (OL:AFGA) reported a sharp rise in profit for the second quarter of 2025, and Swedish property company Sagax (ST:SAGAa) acquired a 10.8% stake in Belgium-based Retail Estates (EBR:RETE).
Crude set for weekly gain
Oil prices slipped lower, but are set for a weekly gain, as traders weigh uncertainty over Russian supply as well as the proximity to the end of the important U.S. summer driving season.
At 11:55 ET, Brent futures slipped 0.4% to $67.69 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.5% to $64.28 a barrel.
Both contracts are on course for weekly gains of just under 1%, with prices gaining after Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil export terminals raised doubts about Russian supply, while the lack of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky raised doubts about the peace process.
However, the end of the U.S. summer driving demand period with the Labor Day holiday on Monday have weighed on prices.
On a broader scale, both contracts are set for monthly losses of over 6%, dragged by steady production hikes by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.