Europe midday: Stocks bounce back as investors eye slew of US data

European stocks rose, bouncing back from three days of losses as expectations of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve were pushed back following disappointing US data in the previous session.

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 1.2%, Germany’s DAX was 1.5% firmer and France’s CAC 40 was 1.3% higher.

“Overall sentiment is mixed, however with US rates not likely to go up any time soon, China stabilising and markets having come off substantially from their highs over the past few months some feel increasingly tempted to take advantage of generally lower valuations and are willing to pour money back into stocks,” said Markus Huber, senior analyst at Peregrine & Black.

On Wednesday, data released by the Department of Commerce showed US retail sales rose 0.1% in September on the month, compared with a flat reading in August and a touch below analysts’ expectations of a 0.2% increase.

Meanwhile, US wholesale prices declined 0.5% month-on-month in September, which was steeper than the 0.2% drop analysts were expecting.

There are no major Eurozone data due, so attention will shift back to the US, where initial jobless claims, CPI and Empire manufacturing are due at 1330 BST, and the Philadelphia Fed survey will be released at 1500 BST.

On the corporate front, shares in household goods giant Unilever rallied after it posted jump in revenue in the third quarter and said it now expects underlying sales growth for the year to be towards the top end of its target range.

Hedge fund firm Man Group was also on the front foot after it reported third-quarter net inflows of $1.4bn.

Casino surged after the French supermarket chain’s third-quarter sales beat analysts’ expectations.

On the downside, luxury fashion retailer Burberry tumbled after saying sales in the second quarter slowed as the market, particularly for Chinese customers, became “increasingly challenging”.

Syngenta slid after the Swiss agricultural chemicals company said sales in the third quarter fell 12% on the year to $2.6bn.

Shares in Swedish clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz were broadly flat after it said sales in September rose 11% from the same month last year.

In London, bank stocks were in focus after the Bank of England said it will require UK banks to hold up to £3.3bn of capital under new ring-fencing rules designed to make their retail operations more resilient to potential market crashes.