European markets choppy after Wall Street sell-off; Bond yields, earnings watched
LONDON — European stocks nudged higher on Wednesday, seemingly shrugging off concerns about rising bond yields while digesting a slew of corporate earnings
| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE | VOLUME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .FTSE | FTSE 100 | *FTSE | 7597.01 | 33.46 | 0.44 | 483609327 |
| .GDAXI | DAX | *DAX | 15876.12 | 103.56 | 0.66 | 45851806 |
| .FCHI | CAC 40 Index | CAC | 7184.72 | 50.89 | 0.71 | 47323427 |
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.2% by mid-morning after starting the day in the red. Retail stocks jumped 2.3% after a strong set of earnings reports, while insurance stocks fell 0.8%
The choppy trade in Europe comes after a sell-off on Wall Street triggered by surging bond yields sent global markets lower in the previous trading session
U.S. bond yields continued their year-to-date climb on Tuesday with the 10-year Treasury topping 1.89%, its highest level in 2 years. The 10-year yield started the year around 1.5%. Meanwhile, the 2-year rate — which reflects short-term interest rate expectations — topped 1% for the first time in two years. Bond yields move inversely to prices
Investors remain jittery over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s schedule for hiking interest rates and tightening its ultra-loose pandemic-era monetary policy
Major U.S. averages also fell sharply Tuesday after Goldman Sachs missed analysts’ expectations for its fourth-quarter earnings. Big bank earnings continue on Wednesday with reports from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley slated before U.S. trading starts
U.S. stock futures were steady in overnight trading while Asia-Pacific markets fell on Wednesday following the sell-off on Wall Street
The U.K. inflation rate soared to a 30-year high in December, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday, as higher energy costs, resurgent demand and supply chain issues continued to drive up consumer prices
Inflation hit an annual 5.4%, its highest since March 1992 and up from 5.1% in November, itself a decade high. Economists polled by Reuters had expected an increase of 5.2%
Earnings in focus
Corporate earnings were a key driver of individual share price action in Europe on Wednesday, with Richemont, WH Smith, JD Wetherspoon and Burberry among those reporting
Richemont shares jumped 9.3% to lead the Stoxx 600 by mid-morning trade after the Swiss luxury goods giant posted a sharp rise in quarterly sales, fueled in particular by jewelry
Burberry also reported a strong set of results and lifted its profit outlook on the back of accelerating full-price sales growth. The British luxury fashion house’s shares traded 6.3% higher
