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European stocks traded higher on Wednesday, though the upside remained capped after an ECB policymaker said that a possible June rate cut might not be followed by more.<\/p>\n
Joachim Nagel, president of Germany’s Bundesbank, said in a speech at the DZ Bank Capital Markets Conference 2024 that a June interest rate cut from the European Central Bank might not necessarily be followed by a series of rate cuts.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, investor sentiment was underpinned after survey data from the ifo Institute showed business<\/span> sentiment in the country improved in April.<\/p>\n The business confidence index climbed to 89.4 in April while economists had forecast the score to rise moderately to 88.9 from March’s initially estimated value of 87.8.<\/p>\n The pan European STOXX 600 edged up 0.1 percent to 508.30 after rallying 1.1 percent on Tuesday. <\/p>\n The German DAX gained 0.3 percent, France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.2 percent and the U.K. FTSE 100 was up half a percent, surging to a fresh record high. <\/p>\n Water processing equipment supplier ASM International jumped 10 percent. The company raised its Q2 revenue forecast after beating analyst estimates for revenue and earnings in the first quarter.<\/p>\n Swedish automaker Volvo Cars lost 8 percent as Q1 revenue came in below expectations. Drugmaker Roche declined 2.6 percent on reporting a 6 percent fall in first-quarter sales. <\/p>\n German biotech Evotec SE slumped 32 percent after reporting its full-year results and naming a new chief executive.<\/p>\n French luxury group Kering plunged 8 percent after a profit warning and amid concerns about declining demand for its Gucci brand.<\/p>\n Air Liquide dropped 1.5 percent on reporting a fall in sales for the first quarter.<\/p>\n Casino Guichard-Perrachon surged 3 percent. The company said it is embarking on a transformation plan aimed at aligning its organization with the Group’s new scope.<\/p>\n Sound Energy fell 2.6 percent in London after the upstream gas company slipped to a loss in FY23 as expressed concern about continuing as a going concern.<\/p>\n Engineering group Filtronic soared 48 percent after announcing a strategic partnership and commercial agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp.<\/p>\n Fresnillo was down about 1 percent after reporting a drop in Q1 gold and silver output.<\/p>\n Reckitt Benckiser jumped 5.4 percent as it reported Q1 like-for-like net revenue growth of 1.5 percent. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Lender Handelsbanken plummeted more than 10 percent after first-quarter earnings missed analyst estimates. <\/p>\n