Hertz Car Sales joins Amazon Autos platform for vehicle sales
Investing.com - European stocks fell Wednesday following a tech-led selloff on Wall Street, while U.K. inflation came in hotter than expected, raising doubts over future monetary easing by the Bank of England.
At 04:00 ET (08:00 GMT), the DAX index in Germany dropped 0.5%, the CAC 40 in France slipped 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. fell 0.2%.
Tech-led weakness
European markets have followed their Asian counterparts lower Wednesday, following the overnight weakness on Wall Street after tech stocks fretted about President Donald Trump’s growing influence over the sector.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is looking into the government taking equity stakes in Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) as well as other chip companies in exchange for grants under the CHIPS Act, according to a Reuters report.
Additionally, the outlook for European corporate health has slightly deteriorated, the latest earnings forecasts showed on Tuesday, marking a change of direction after several weeks of improvement.
European companies are expected to report growth of 4.6% in second-quarter earnings, on average, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data. That is slightly below the 4.8% rise analysts had expected a week ago.
U.K. inflation rose in July
U.K. consumer price inflation increased to 3.8% in July from 3.6% in June, above the consensus forecast of 3.7%, according to official data released Wednesday. This was the highest for the headline number since January 2024.
The Bank of England had anticipated this inflation rise in its August Monetary Policy Report, predicting CPI would reach an 18-month high of 3.8% in July.
Despite the rising inflation, analysts at Capital Economics maintain that a November interest rate cut remains possible, but they acknowledge the risk that inflation expectations and wage growth could rise further, potentially delaying the next rate cut until 2026.
Inflation for the eurozone as a whole is scheduled for release later in the session, and is expected to show that the annual CPI figure remained at 2.0% in July, matching the European Central Bank’s medium-term target.
Alcon (NYSE:ALC) cuts sales guidance
The European defense sector is still in the doldrums Wednesday, on raised hopes of peace in Ukraine.
Elsewhere, Ithaca Energy (LON:ITH) reported a sharp jump in first-half earnings and the North Sea oil and gas producer upgraded its 2025 outlook on the back of higher production, stronger cash flow, and disciplined cost control.
Alcon (SIX:ALCC) lowered its 2025 sales guidance on Tuesday, citing the continued drag from U.S. tariffs as the Swiss-American eye-care company generates almost half of its revenue in the U.S..
FLSmidth (CSE:FLS) posted second-quarter results that matched its earlier guidance, but the Danish mining equipment maker showed a sharp revenue decline and continued losses in its Products division.
Crude edge higher
Oil prices rose Wednesday, bouncing after the previous session’s losses as traders awaited fresh news over the next steps to end the war in Ukraine.
At 04:00 ET, Brent futures gained 1% to $66.46 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.2% to $62.48 a barrel.
Prices settled down more than 1% on Tuesday on optimism that a deal to end the war seemed closer, which would likely lead to an easing of sanctions on Russia and an increase in global supply.