Europe midday: Shares up ahead of US data; Grifols slumps on S&P downgrade

European shares extended gains on Thursday as investors awaited inflation data from the US for a guide on the future path of interest rate cuts.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.28% to 508.73, after a record performance on Wednesday, with regional bourses mixed.

Eyes will be on February's US producer price index with expectations of a 0.3% rise in February, or a core rise of 0.2% after food and energy prices are stripped out.

The data could muddy the water if the reading comes in hotter than expected, given that the recent CPI print showed some signs of inflation remaining sticky in the final push towards the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%," said Interactive Investor head of markets Richard Hunter.

"In addition, readings on retail sales and the labour market will provide additional clues ahead of the Fed meeting next week, with no change to the interest rate expected, with the consensus currently anticipating the first cut in June."

In equity news, shares in Hapag-Lloyd fell as the German shipping giant warned of a fall in earnings this year, citing the attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen-based Houthi militants.

Grifols shares fell again as the Spanish pharmaceutical group's credit rating was downgraded to 'B' by S&P Global after reporting weaker free cash generation and higher leverage for 2023 than expected.

S&P said it anticipated Grifols would face negative free cash flow and adjusted EBITDA margins below expectations in 2024.

Shares in German renewable energy producer Encavis were up 25% after investment firm KKR confirmed it had made a takeover offer for the company for a total equity value of around €2.8bn.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com