(RTTNews) – European stocks closed on a somewhat positive note on Wednesday despite falling from the morning highs and a match for much of the afternoon session.
Temperament was cautious, with investors awaiting the Federal Reserve’s financial policy announcement, expected later today. The Fed is expected to keep interest rates close to 0 for an extended period. The central bank’s outlook on inflation, unemployment and general economic expansion is in the spotlight.
The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England are expected to make their financial policy announcements on Thursday.
Markets assimilated the last batch of economic knowledge and followed Brexit’s news and updates on coronavirus cases.
The stoxx six hundred pan-Europeans finished with a 0. 58% rise. Germany’s DAX rose 0. 29% and France’s CAC 40 rose by 0. 13%, while the UK FTSE 100 fell by 0. 44%. Switzerland’s SMI rose 0. 3%.
Markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended with a company note.
The Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Poland, Russia and Turkey closed weakly.
In the German market, Fresenius won almost 2. 5%. Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Post, Siemens, Merck, Lufthansa, HeidelbergCement and Adidas rose by 1 to 2%, while Wirecard, Bayer, Fresenius Medical Care and Allianz ended up weak.
Renault, Peugeot, Crédit Agricole, Bouygues, Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Valeo are weak.
In the UK market, TUI fell more than 6%, while Rolls-Royce Holdings closed with a fall of 5. 3%. Melrose and Morrison supermarkets finished down nearly 4%.
HSBC Holdings, Aviva, Rio Tinto, BAE Systems and Hikma Pharmaceuticals recorded a sharp decline.
By contrast, Royal Mail rose more than 6%. Ferguson, Mondi, British Land Company, Land Securities, 3i Group, Experian, BHP Group, Lloyds Banking Group, WPP and Aveva also made a profit.
On the economic front, the surplus of the euro area industry rose for the third consecutive month in July to pre-pandemic levels, according to data published through Eurostat. Exports rose 6. 5% seasonally and imports 4. 2% on a monthly basis in July. As a result, the industry surplus increased to 20. 3 billion euros from 16. 0 billion euros in June.
Exports of goods fell 10. 4% in line with the year and imports by 14. 3%. As a result, the industry surplus rose to 27. 9 billion euros without adjustment in July, to 23. 2 billion euros in the same period last year.
According to a report by the Office of National Statistics, UK inflation slowed in August to 0. 2% less than expected from 1% in July, and prices are expected to reach 0. 1%.
On a monthly basis, customer costs fell by 0. 4%, counteracting a 0. 4% increase in July. Economists had predicted a 0. 6% drop.
The OECD raised its overall economic forecast by 2020, with production recovering following the easing of containment measures and the initial reopening of business.
According to wednesday’s interim economic outlook report, the world economy will contract by 4. 5% this year from an estimated 6% drop in June, while the expansion projection for 2021 has been revised to 5% from 5. 2%.
However, the firm warned that the outlook is subject to great uncertainty and that projections are based on assumptions about the evolution of the Covid-19 virus and policies.