Europe midday: Stocks rise as investors sift through earnings

European stocks gained ground on Tuesday as investors sifted through corporate releases and amid rising oil prices.

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were all up 1.2%.

In London, the FTSE 100 was 0.9% firmer after data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK inflation in September rose unexpectedly strongly to hit its highest level in 22 months.

Meanwhile, oil prices advanced, with West Texas Intermediate up 1% at $50.44 a barrel and Brent crude up 0.9% at $51.98. The Stoxx 600 oil and gas index gained 1.2%.

Markus Huber, a trader at City of London Markets, said traders will be keeping a close eye on US earnings with Goldman Sachs and Philip Morris reporting ahead of the US open and tech heavyweight Intel after the close of US trading.

“Finally markets might see some profit-taking and position squaring in late trading as a whole flood of important Chinese data like retail sales, industrial production and Q3 GDP is scheduled to be released overnight.”

In corporate news, Remy Cointreau rallied after the company’s second-quarter sales beat estimates.

London-listed housebuilder Bellway rallied after reporting a rise in full-year profit as it lifted its dividend by 40% and said demand has remained solid despite the Brexit vote.

On the downside, German automotive manufacturer Continental fell after cutting its annual profit guidance, while Kuehne & Nagel International declined as its earnings for the first nine months of fiscal 2016 missed estimates.

Testing, inspection and certification firm Bureau Veritas was also on the back foot after cutting its outlook for full-year 2016 amid weakness in the oil and gas and shipping markets.

Luxury retailer Burberry slumped after it said like-for-like sales improved in the second quarter but for the full year its expected benefit from currency movements is not as big as analyst forecasts.

Budget airline Ryanair flew a little lower after cutting its net profit guidance for full-year 2017 by 5% due to the weakening of the pound following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

In the US, CPI is at 1330 BST, while the NAHB housing market index is at 1500 BST.