European stocks moved higher on Wednesday amid positive momentum in global markets.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 added 0.6% in early trade, with tech stocks climbing 1.3% to lead gains as almost all sectors and major bourses nudged into positive territory. Oil and gas stocks bucked the trend to slip 0.4%.
Corporate earnings were a key driver of individual share price action on Wednesday, with reports coming from TeamViewer, Santander, Julius Baer, Glencore, Novartis and Vodafone, among others.
British online supermarket Ocado climbed 6% to lead the Stoxx 600 in early deals after Credit Suisse double upgraded the stock to “outperform” and raised its price target.
Julius Baer slid more than 4% to the bottom of the European blue chip index after its earnings report.
The higher open for European markets came amid gains elsewhere this week. In the U.S. on Tuesday, the major averages rose for a third day as stocks attempted a comeback from their tumultuous January, the S&P 500′s worst month since March 2020.
U.S. stock futures were mixed in early premarket trading ahead of the release of private payroll data on Wednesday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect 200,000 private jobs were added in January, down from December’s growth of 807,000 private payrolls, according to ADP.
Meanwhile in Asia-Pacific markets overnight, shares rose in Wednesday trade although markets in mainland China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore remain closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.
Investors in Europe are also keeping an eye on tensions between Russia and Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the West had ignored Moscow’s security concerns over Ukraine and NATO.
“It’s already clear now … that fundamental Russian concerns were ignored,” Putin said at a press conference Tuesday, according to a Reuters translation. Separately, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with his Ukrainian counterpart in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Data releases on Wednesday include flash euro zone inflation figures for January.
– CNBC