Europe midday: Shares hold gains despite EZ retail sales, PMI data
European shares were up on Wednesday, driven by a deal that will see Amazon take a stake in Just Eat Takeaway’s struggling US unit Grubhub and despite weak eurozone retail sales and PMI data.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up almost 1.64%, with sentiment boosted by news that Norwegian oil and gas workers had called off their strike, easing worries of a supply shortage.
Germany's DAX gained 1.5% after slumping almost 3% in the previous session. Data showed German industrial orders grew surprisingly in May, reversing the trend after a third consecutive monthly drop.
Britain’s FTSE 100 outperformed the European benchmark with a 1.77% rise despite the resignation of Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid from the government of embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson over more claims he misled his MPs.
Oil prices rebounded after coming under pressure overnight due to fears of reduced demand, with international benchmark Brent crude falling below $100 a barrel before recovering on Wednesday.
“It is increasingly hoped that lower oil prices, which would benefit both businesses as well as consumers, could lead to an adjustment of investment and spending patterns which would underpin a faltering economy,” said Interactive Investor head of markets Richard Hunter.
“Similarly, the thought of recession could result in lower interest rates if the monetary tightening is overdone. As such, high growth stocks would benefit from such easier conditions. In addition, there was some strength in consumer discretionary stocks in light of such a possible relief to the current pressure on consumer spending.”
In economic news, eurozone retail sales volumes undershot economists' forecasts in May. According to Eurostat, in seasonally-adjusted terms, sales volumes grew at a month-on-month clip of 0.2% (Consensus: 0.5%).
Furthermore, April's outsized 1.3% drop in sales versus the previous month was revised down to -1.4%.
Elsewhere in the single currency bloc, activity in the construction sector fell further in June, according to a survey released on Wednesday, due to weaker demand amid acute price pressures and economic uncertainty.
The S&P Global eurozone construction purchasing managers’ index declined to 47.0 from 49.2 in May, marking the worst contraction since February 2021. A reading above 50.0 indicates contraction, while a reading above signals expansion.
In equity news, Just Eat Takeaway.com surged 18.3% after Amazon agreed to take a 2% stake in Grubhub and said it will offer its Prime members access to the service for one year.
Shares of Faurecia fell 4.3% after Barclays double-downgraded its rating on the French car parts maker' stock to "underweight".
Ryanair shares rose on the back of a UBS upgrade to ‘buy’.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti at Sharecast.com