European stock markets closed mostly higher this Wednesday (11), driven by the release of the consumer price index (CPI) from the United States, which reinforced the prospects for interest cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed , the North American central bank).
In this scenario, investors are still awaiting the decision of the European Central Bank (ECB) this Thursday (12), when a reduction in rates is widely expected. In this way, the DAX index renewed its historic closing high in Frankfurt.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.32% to 520.17 points.
The US CPI rose 0.3% in November compared to October and, in the annual comparison, the increase was 2.7% last month. The result strengthened the idea that the American Central Bank will make monetary easing, despite accelerating compared to the previous month.
According to CME Group’s tracking tool, bets for a 25 basis point cut jumped from 86.1% to 98.1%.
The market is also awaiting the ECB’s decision, which is expected to cut base rates by 25 basis points on Thursday. For TD Securities, the focus on the markets will be on the language of the president of the monetary authority, Christine Lagarde, at the press conference.
There is also an expectation that the ECB will revise its GDP forecast for 2025 downwards and the global inflation figures for 2024/2025 downwards.
Rabobank recalls that, in the September 2024 projections, global inflation should return to the target in the fourth quarter of 2025, but it is likely that this was brought forward in the last set of projections.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has submitted a request to parliament to hold a vote of confidence, the necessary precursor to holding new federal elections. Scholz is expected to miss the vote, scheduled for December 16, as his government no longer has a majority in parliament since his coalition imploded. Scholz must then ask the president to dissolve parliament, triggering new general elections.
In Frankfurt, the DAX rose 0.42%, to 20,413.53 points. In Madrid, Inditex shares fell 6.54%, after the owner of Zara disappointed with sales in the third quarter, in the company’s biggest daily drop since 2022, putting pressure on the Ibex35, which fell 1.43%, to 11,793.80 points, being the exception among the main indices.
Pharol’s shares rose 4.35% in Lisbon after it announced an agreement with Oi that puts an end to a tax contingency lasting several years due to refunds it has received from the tax authorities totaling 26.2 million euros. . In the city, the PSI 20 advanced 0.14%, to 6,352.01 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.39%, to 7,423.40 points. In Milan, the FTSE MIB advanced 0.60%, to 34,731.31 points. Outside the euro zone, the FTSE 100 gained 0.28%, at 8,303.17 points.
