UK Inflation Held Steady, Dutch GDP Expanded In the Final Quarter of 2023

Bridgette Randall
14 Feb, 2024
Frankfurt

European markets edged slightly higher in Wednesday's trading, a day after a sharp selloff following the release of the U.S. inflation report. 

World markets traded down after U.S. inflation in January eased less than expected to an annual pace of 3.1% and core inflation stayed at 3.9%, supporting the case for the Federal Reserve to wait a longer before lowering interest rates. 

In Wednesday's trading, benchmark indexes in Paris, London, and Frankfurt slightly advanced, and investors reacted to domestic corporate results. 

 

UK Inflation Held Steady In January

Closer to home, the UK consumer price inflation rate held steady at 4.0%, the Office for National Statistics reported on Wednesday. 

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, was also unchanged at 5.1%. 

On a monthly basis, inflation declined by 0.6%, after rising by 0.4% in December.

 

Dutch GDP Expands In the Final Quarter of 2023  

The Netherlands GDP grew by 0.3% from the previous quarter in the final quarter of 2023, Statistics Netherlands reported Wednesday. 

The Dutch economy expanded in the final quarter following the contraction in the previous three quarters in a row, after consumer spending rose 1.8% and government spending advanced 0.4%. 

International trade did not make any contribution to the GDP after exports and imports rose 0.3%. 

The Dutch GDP shrank by 0.5% from a year ago after contracting by 0.8% in the third quarter. 

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index increased 0.1% to 16,896.03, the CAC-40 index rose 0.3% to 7,649.74, and the FTSE 100 index inched higher by 0.6% to 7,556.02.

The yield on 10-year German bonds edged up to 2.36%; French bonds inched higher to 2.85%; the UK gilts edged higher to 4.07%; and Italian bonds inched higher to 3.90%.

The euro edged lower to $1.070, the British pound inched higher to $1.255, and the U.S. dollar gained to 88.79 Swiss cents.

Brent crude increased $0.09 to $82.67 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas fell by €0.56 to €24.88 per MWh.

 

Europe Stock Movers

Banks across Europe declined after rate-cut hopes waned in the eurozone. 

Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, UniCredit, and Commerzbank edged lower. 

ABN Amro Bank increased 4.2% to €14.02 after the Dutch lender's quarterly earnings were ahead of market expectations. 

ThyssenKrupp declined 8.5% to €5.05 after the German steelmaker lowered its full-year profit and sales outlook, citing weakening demand. 

The company also took on impairment charges in its fiscal first quarter.

Schindler Holding increased 2% to CHF 212.80 after the Swiss elevator company estimated revenue growth of "low single-digit" in 2024. 

Bilfinger SE soared 10.1% to €42.16 after the company won a large maintenance order from INEOS for the Forties Pipeline System. 

Delivery Hero jumped 5.5% to €19.74 after the German food delivery company said its organic cash flow is sufficient to cover its bond and debt maturities. 

Heineken NV dropped 5% to €88.48 after the alcoholic beverage maker issued a cautious outlook for 2024, citing uncertainty in global geopolitical and economic conditions. 

Capgemini advanced 4.5% to €215.50 after the French IT consulting group reported solid results in 2023 despite the weak macroeconomic environment. 

Dunelm Group decreased 0.7% to 1,078.0 pence after the UK-based home goods retailer reported strong results in the interim period for 26 weeks ending on December 30. 

The company signaled that margin growth is likely to slow down in the coming months. 

Coca-Cola HBC gained 5.7% to 2,332.0 pence after the Hellenic bottling company reported a record annual profit in 2023 and the company lifted its dividend.