European stocks higher; FTSE outperforms as U.K. CPI cools sharply

Investing.com - European stock markets traded higher Wednesday, helped by signs of Chinese economic resilience, while cooling U.K. inflation helps the FTSE 100 outperform..

At 03:45 ET (08:45 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.5% higher, the CAC 40 in France traded up 0.7% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. surged 1.1%.

Chinese economic recovery helps tone

The main European equity indices received a boost Wednesday from data released earlier in the session showing that China's industrial output grew at a faster pace than anticipated and retail sales growth beat expectations, an encouraging sign for the world's second-largest economy, and a major export market for many of Europe’s largest companies.

Additionally, China’s central bank poured liquidity into the banking system earlier Wednesday, a move aimed chiefly at shoring up sluggish economic growth by encouraging more lending. 

This followed on from Tuesday's gains, as weak U.S. inflation data raised hopes that the Federal Reserve has reached the peak in its interest rate-hiking cycle.

U.K. inflation falls sharply

Back in Europe, the positive news continued as British inflation fell sharply in October, admittedly mainly due to falling energy prices.

The headline annual figure dropped to 4.6%, from 6.7%, the prior month, the first time below 5% since 2021. The monthly release was flat, a considerable cooling from the 0.5% growth seen in September.

The Bank of England recently paused its rate-hiking cycle which had seen its key interest rate climb to 5.25%, the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, as the U.K. economy approaches recessionary territory.

Further evidence of slowing growth in Europe, as a whole, is likely to come from eurozone industrial production later in the session, as it is expected to have contracted sharply in September.

Renault sets out targets for Ampere

In the corporate sector, Infineon (OTC:IFNNY) stock rose 2.1% after the German chip manufacturer reported higher-than-expected revenue for its 2023 fiscal year as demand for semiconductors remains unabated.

Siemens Energy (ETR:ENR1n) stock rose over 7% after the German government agreed E7.5 billion (e1 = $1.0878) in state guarantees for the troubled energy giant, hours before it announed a nearly E5 billion loss for its fiscal year.

Experian (LON:EXPN) stock jumped 5.7% after the world's largest credit data company reported a higher half-yearly profit, while Swiss eye-care company Alcon (NYSE:ALC) dropped 7% after posting lower-than-expected third-quarter sales and narrowing its full-year outlook.

French car maker Renault (EPA:RENA) rose 1.4% after it set out the financial targets for its electric vehicles unit Ampere, which it plans to list on the market next year.

"We are not going to give it away," said Renault executive Thierry Pieton, adding the company had ample cash flow to keep financing it if it did not get the valuation it wanted for an IPO. 

Crude awaits U.S. inventories data

Oil prices stabilized Wednesday after the previous session's gains on the back of signs of cooling U.S. inflation. 

By 03:45 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.1% lower at $78.22 a barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 0.1% to $82.44 a barrel. 

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its first oil inventory report in two weeks in the session, after a systems upgrade last week. Industry data from the American Petroleum Institute released on Tuesday pointed to a weekly build of just over one million barrels in inventories.

Additionally, gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,975.00/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.0872.