On Wednesday, European shares experienced a slight uptick in anticipation of the release of crucial U.S. inflation data. This data will play a crucial role in determining whether the Federal Reserve is nearing the completion of its monetary policy tightening.
As of 7:07 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.3%.
The U.S. data, scheduled to be unveiled at 12:30 GMT, is anticipated to reveal a moderation in the consumer price index (CPI), with a year-on-year increase of 3.1% in June following May’s surge of 4%.
Should inflation experience a significant slowdown, it could strengthen speculations that the Fed will conclude its rate hikes, which have negatively impacted the market, after July.
Among European sectors, technology stocks showed the highest gains. Shares of semiconductor companies such as ASML Holding (AS:ASML) (NASDAQ:ASML) and Infineon (ETR:IFXGn)(OTC:IFNNY) increased between 0.8% and 2.2% after Jefferies raised its price target for these stocks.
In terms of individual stocks, DNB, Norway’s largest bank (OL:DNB) (OTC:DNBBY), saw a 1.1% decline at market open. This occurred despite the bank exceeding second-quarter profit expectations, which were attributed to a robust economy and higher interest rates.
