(RTTNews) – European stocks closed on a somewhat positive note on Wednesday despite falling from the morning highs and fighting for much of the afternoon session.
The temperament was cautious as investors awaited the announcement of financial policy from the Federal Reserve later in the day. The Fed is expected to keep interest rates close to 0 for a prolonged era of time. The central bank’s outlook on inflation, unemployment and general economic expansion are at the center of concerns.
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 pan-European Stoxx 600 ended with a 0. 58% increase. 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%.
Other markets in Europe included Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, and 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 by more than 6%. Rolls-Royce Holdings closed with a 5. 3% drop. Supermarkets Melrose and Morrison ended up with a drop of almost 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 increased to EUR 27. 9 billion without adjustment in July, to EUR 23. 2 billion 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.