©Reuters
Investing.com – European stock markets traded mixed on Wednesday, with trading ranges remaining narrow as investors cautiously awaited fresh inflation tests later in the week.
As of 03:05 ET (08:05 Japan time), German stocks were up 0.1%, French stocks were up 0.1%, and British stocks were down 0.2%.
Staying calm in the face of important inflation statistics
There has been some calm in stock markets around the world, and Europe is no exception, as investors await the next round of inflation data that will give clues to the interest rate outlook, which is closely watched in the US and Europe.
The eurozone is due to release its February report on Friday, while reports from Germany, France and Spain are due to be released on Thursday ahead of this release.
Elsewhere, the US Federal Reserve's preferred core index is expected to be released on Thursday and is expected to rise 0.4% in January from the same month.
While recent economic data shows the U.S. economy remains strong, Fed officials have cautioned against expecting rate cuts too soon as inflation remains high. As a result, investors are delaying bets on the Fed's interest rate cuts until the end of the year.
There was a surprise earlier in the day as the central bank kept interest rates on hold at 5.5% but also narrowed its expected policy path for future rates.
Reckitt Benckiser catch a cold
In the corporate sector, shares of consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser (LON:) fell after fourth-quarter net sales were mostly below expectations due to lower sales of seasonal cold and flu products. It fell 8%.
aston martin (LON:) Shares are down 6% after the company's annual loss was smaller than market expectations and more than halved in 2023 as sales prices hit record levels. Rose.
Vodafone (NASDAQ:) shares rose 2% after the British telecoms giant announced it was currently in exclusive talks with Swisscom for the cash sale of its Italian unit.
Poor drop after large API build
Oil prices fell on Wednesday after a large increase in inventories, suggesting that while consumption is weak, supplies remain plentiful in the key U.S. market.
By 3:05 ET, U.S. crude oil futures were trading 0.6% lower at $78.44 per barrel, while the contract was down 0.5% at $82.22 per barrel.
U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 8.4 million barrels in the week ending Feb. 22, well above the 1.8 million barrel increase that analysts expected, according to data released Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute.
Official inventory data is expected to be released later in the day, but there is some deviation from API data from recent weeks.
It also fell 0.4% to $2,036.75 an ounce, trading 0.2% lower at $1.0821.
