European Markets Extend Weekly Gains, German Wholesale Prices Fall for 10th Month

Bridgette Randall
16 Feb, 2024
Frankfurt

Benchmark indexes in Europe extended weekly gains, and investors looked beyond interest rate uncertainty. 

Market indexes in Paris, Frankfurt, and London inched higher by 0.7% as investors focused on earnings growth and overlooked interest rate jitters. 

 

German Wholesale Prices Decline Extends to 10th Consecutive Month

Germany's wholesale prices declined in January from a year ago by 2.7%, the Federal Statistics Office reported Friday. 

The annual pace of wholesale prices declined for the tenth month in a row following the 7.2% decline in mineral oil prices and the 16.3% fall in chemical product prices. 

However, prices for fruits, vegetables, and potatoes rose 11.8%, beverages increased 6.5%, and sugar, confectionary, and baked goods rose 7.0%. 

On a monthly basis, wholesale prices rose by 0.1% in January, the first increase in four months. 

 

UK Retail Sales Rebounded In January 

UK retail sales rebounded more than expected in January, the Office for National Statistics reported Friday. 

Retail sales volume rebounded 3.4% from the previous month in January after dropping 3.3% in December. 

The sales rebound was the largest since April 2021, and sales rose in all categories except apparel stores. 

Food store sales rose 3.4%, and non-food store sales increased 3.0% in the month. 

Sales at household goods stores advanced 1.8%, mainly because of the rebound in sales at hardware stores, but sales at apparel stores declined 1.4%. 

On an annual basis, sales increased by 0.7%, the largest increase since March 2022. 

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index increased by 0.8% to 17,176.04, the CAC-40 index rose 0.6% to 7,789.81, and the FTSE 100 index inched higher by 0.7% to 7,653.85.

The yield on 10-year German bonds edged up to 2.38%; French bonds inched higher to 2.85%; the UK gilts edged lower to 4.09%; and Italian bonds inched higher to 3.8%.

The euro edged lower to $1.076, the British pound inched higher to $1.258, and the U.S. dollar gained to 88.12 Swiss cents.

Brent crude decreased $0.81 to $82.06 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas rose by €0.11 to €25.08 per MWh.

 

Europe Stock Movers

Swiss Re declined 2.2% to CHF 101.35 despite the reinsurance company reporting a sharply higher profit in 2023, driven by improvements in its property and casualty segments. 

Metso Oyj soared 11.7% to €10.66 after the Finnish mining company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, and the company also guided an upbeat outlook. 

Volkswagen Group increased 0.9% to €120.24 after the German vehicle maker signed an agreement with India's Mahindra & Mahindra to supply key electric components for its electric vehicles. 

Segro plc increased 1% to 842.0 pence after the warehousing group narrowed its fiscal 2023 loss driven by rent growth and higher occupancy. 

Hella declined 0.9% to €80.70 despite the German automotive supplier reporting improved adjusted sales and operating income in fiscal 2023. 

NatWest Group soared 6% to 226.70 pence after the UK-based financial service group reported its best annual profit in 2023 since the financial crisis of 2007.

Umicore SA declined 2.2% to €20.50 after the Belgian mineral and battery company reported lower-than-expected sales and outlook. 

Earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation, and amortization declined 18% to €472 million due to lower metals prices and investment costs.