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May 12 (Reuters) - European stocks inched higher on
Wednesday after their worst selloff this year as strong earnings
reports and signs of a speedy economic recovery offset concerns
about a rapid rise in prices.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.1% by 0713
GMT after falling by almost 2% on Tuesday as investors offloaded
riskier assets on worries that rising U.S. inflation could lead
to tighter monetary policy.
All eyes will be on U.S. consumer price data for April that
is due later in the day. Numbers for Germany and France were
largely in line with estimates.
European earnings are now expected to surge 90.2% in the
first quarter, as per Refinitiv IBES data, up from a forecast of
83.1% growth last week.
German lender Commerzbank CBKG.DE jumped 5.4% after it
beat expectations for first-quarter profit and raised its
revenue outlook. Spirits maker Diageo DGE.L rose 2.8% on restarting its
capital return program, while Amsterdam-based technology
investor Prosus NV PRX.AS gained 3% after plans to acquire up
to 45.4% of shares in its parent Naspers NPNJn.J .