European Shares Edge Higher After Industrial Output, GDP Data

European shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after the release of Eurozone industrial production and Q2 GDP data.

Euro area industrial production unexpectedly rose by 0.5 percent month-over-month in June 2023, after a revised flat reading in the prior month, the Eurostats reported.

Separate data revealed the Eurozone economy expanded by 0.3 percent on a quarterly basis in the three months to June of 2023, matching the consensus estimates.

The pan European STOXX 600 was up 0.2 percent at 456.50 after closing at its lowest level in more than a month on Tuesday.

The German DAX edged up 0.2 percent and France’s CAC 40 added 0.4 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent at 7,372 after the release of U.K. inflation data.

U.K. consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in nearly one-and-a-half years in July reflecting lower energy prices, the Office for National Statistics said today.

Consumer price inflation slowed to 6.8 percent in July, as expected, from 7.9 percent in June. This was the weakest since March 2022, when inflation was 6.2 percent.

However, core inflation remained at a high of 6.9 percent, underscoring rate hike predictions.

In corporate news, Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S edged up slightly after lifting its 2023 profit forecast.

Swiss eye-care firm Alcon dropped half a percent despite reporting a rise in Q2 sales and raising its full-year outlook.

Miners fell on China growth worries, with Antofagasta down 1.4 percent and Rio Tinto falling half a percent.

Insurer Admiral Group soared 5.2 percent after posting a marginal rise in its first-half pre-tax profit.

Likewise, Aviva rallied nearly 3 percent after reporting strong first half results with profitable growth momentum across the group.

Essentra, a supplier of plastic and fiber products, fell about 1 percent after half-year revenue declined 5.5 percent year-on-year.

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