Forex Pros – pros – European stock markets were mixed on Wednesday, as upbeat economic data from China eased fears over an abrupt slowdown in the world’s second largest economy, while lingering concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis limited gains.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased down 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.2%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged 0.2% higher.
Official data released earlier showed that Chinese gross domestic product expanded by 9.5% in the second quarter, broadly in line with expectations. A separate report showed that industrial production rose by 15.1% in June, the most since May 2010, outstripping expectations for a 13.7% increase.
European exporters with high exposure to China, such as automakers performed strongly. Shares in Volkswagen climbed 1.7%, BMW shares rose 2.2%, while Peugeot saw shares gain 1.3%.
Meanwhile, Ireland joined Portugal and Greece as the third euro-zone member state to have its credit rating reduced to junk status, following a downgrade by ratings agency Moody’s on Tuesday.
Shares in the financial sector were mixed. Bank of Ireland saw shares tumble 4%, Deutsche Bank dropped 1%, while Italian lenders Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit gained 3.3% and 2.5% respectively after Italian lawmakers pledged to speed up efforts to approve an austerity package.
Europe’s largest semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holdings sank 4.8% after it said it expected orders to pull back sharply in the third quarter as customers become more hesitant to place big orders.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.2% as raw material producers gained after oil and metal prices advanced and as fears over a slowdown in demand from China eased.
Mining giant BHP Billiton saw shares jump 1.6%, silver producer Fresnillo rallied 6%, while shares of oil major British Petroleum added 0.9%.
Fashion retailer Burberry saw shares advance 2.6% after reporting a 26% jump in second quarter revenue, as sales grew across all regions and categories.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets was upbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.55%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.65%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated an increase of 0.75%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on import prices and crude oil inventories, as well as a report on the federal budget balance.
In addition, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is to give prepared testimony on monetary policy before lawmakers in Washington.
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