Europe close: Stocks jump as inflation fears ease
European stocks extended gains on Wednesday as investors shrugged off gloomy IMF growth forecasts and the continuing war in Ukraine.
"Stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic continue to make gains, indicative of a general calming of nerves around inflation and central bank tightening," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.
In the background, a Ukrainian official reportedly said that Kyiv was studying Russia's latest proposal in peace talks.
Overnight, Bloomberg reported that a minority of Russia's elite were increasingly of the opinion that the invasion of Ukraine had been a catastrophic mistake.
Against that backdrop, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.84% to 460.10 in early deals, with all regional bourses higher.
Germany's Dax put on 1.47% to 14,362.03 while the Cac-40 climbed 1.38% to 6,624.91.
On Tuesday, the IMF cut its global growth projections for 2022 and 2023, saying the economic impact from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will “propagate far and wide”.
The World Bank on Monday lowered its global growth forecast for 2022 by nearly a full percentage point, from 4.1% to 3.2%, citing the war.
In Germany, producer prices rose 30.9% on the year in March, Germany's Federal Office of Statistics reported on Wednesday, reflecting the effects of the Ukraine conflict for the first time, according to official data.
In equity news, shares in Danone jumped 6% after the French food group posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter sales growth and maintained its 2022 targets.
Just Eat Takeaway shares gained 2% despite the company saying it was looking at a partial or full sale of Grubhub, reported a dip in first-quarter orders and also cut its guidance for the full year.
Shares in brewer Heineken advanced after the company achieved a sharper rise in first-quarter beer sales as European bars reopened.
Credit Suisse shares dipped after the Swiss bank said it expects a loss in reported first-quarter earnings after increasing legal provisions.
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto slumped after it reported lower-than-expected iron ore shipments in the first quarter as it warned of inflationary risk, a resurgence of Covid lockdowns in China and the impact of a prolonged Russia-Ukraine war. Miners in general were weaker as copper prices fell, with Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta all down.