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European shares higher as UK budget, corporate earnings takes center stage
European stocks edged higher Wednesday afternoon as investors digested the latest U.K. budget announcements and news in the corporate earnings space. The pan-European STOXX 600 (STOXX: .STOXX) pushed higher, trading up 0.4 percent in afternoon deals with sectors moving in opposite directions. Bourses were relatively mixed, with Germany's DAX (XETRA: .GDAXI) trading lower, and France's CAC 40 (Euronext Paris: .FCHI) and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 (FTSE International: .FTSE) posting gains. Utilities was the best performing sector during afternoon trade with RWE (XETRA: RWE-DE) up 3.5 percent. The stock has benefited from the collapse of coalition talks in Germany, as analysts are now expected a looser energy policy. French rival EDF (Euronext Paris: EDF-FR) meanwhile rose over 4 percent. Travel and leisure stocks came under pressure on the back of earnings news. Thomas Cook (London Stock Exchange: TCG-GB) slipped over 8.5 percent, yet was off session lows, after announcing full year results that showed an 8 percent increase in earnings. Margins fell in the 2017 fiscal year due to a more competitive environment however. Looking across the European benchmark, the food travel company SSP (London Stock Exchange: SSPG-GB) rose over 8 percent after posting a 27 percent increase in underlying profits. At the other end, media group Schibsted (Oslo Stock Exchange: SCHA-NO) fell over 7 percent after announcing a new share issue. Shares of Dutch firm Akzo Nobel (Euronext Amsterdam: AKZA-NL) were up by 1.7 percent after Japanese firm Nippon Paint made an all cash offer Tuesday to buy Axalta, Reuters reported, putting an end to Axalta's merger talks with Akzo Nobel. In commodity markets, oil prices edged higher on expectations of a production cut next week at an OPEC meeting, and on news that a major pipeline cut Canadian crude flows to the U.S.. Brent rose to trade around $63.13 while WTI was up around $57.80 a barrel in afternoon trade. UK budget takes the spotlight Aside from individual stock news, investors have turned their attention to the U.K., as Finance Minister Philip Hammond presented the government's latest budget. During his speech, Hammond stated that the U.K. would be setting aside £3 billion ($3.96 billion) when it comes to Brexit. "The negotiations on our future relationship with the European Union are in a critical phase," Hammond said, at a time when the ruling Conservative party is facing challenges surrounding the economy and on a political front. "We have already invested almost £700 million in Brexit preparations and today I am setting aside over the next two years, another £3 billion and I stand ready to allocate further sums if and when needed," he said. Brexit, however, wasn't the only focus of the U.K.'s budget. During his speech, Hammond went on to discuss the technological revolution that's materializing, on productivity, housing, debt and the OBR growth forecasts. Sterling (Exchange: GBP=) fluctuated against the dollar during Hammond's remarks yet rose afterwards, while the FTSE 100 was up over 0.5 percent. British housebuilders however slipped during trade, with Barratt Development (London Stock Exchange: BDEV-GB) , Persimmon (London Stock Exchange: PSN-GB) , and Berkeley Group (London Stock Exchange: BKG-GB) all off 2 percent or more each. Later, there will be flash consumer confidence numbers in the euro zone out at 3.00 p.m. London time.Meanwhile overseas, investors will be paying close attention to the release of the Federal Open Market Committee's minutes from its last meeting. The minutes are due to be published after the European market close. European stocks edged higher Wednesday afternoon as investors digested the latest U.K. budget announcements and news in the corporate earnings space. The pan-European STOXX 600 (STOXX: .STOXX) pushed higher, trading up 0.4 percent in afternoon deals with sectors moving in opposite directions. Bourses were relatively mixed, with Germany's DAX (XETRA: .GDAXI) trading lower, and France's CAC 40 (Euronext Paris: .FCHI) and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 (FTSE International: .FTSE) posting gains. Utilities was the best performing sector during afternoon trade with RWE (XETRA: RWE-DE) up 3.5 percent. The stock has benefited from the collapse of coalition talks in Germany, as analysts are now expected a looser energy policy. French rival EDF (Euronext Paris: EDF-FR) meanwhile rose over 4 percent. Travel and leisure stocks came under pressure on the back of earnings news. Thomas Cook (London Stock Exchange: TCG-GB) slipped over 8.5 percent, yet was off session lows, after announcing full year results that showed an 8 percent increase in earnings. Margins fell in the 2017 fiscal year due to a more competitive environment however. Looking across the European benchmark, the food travel company SSP (London Stock Exchange: SSPG-GB) rose over 8 percent after posting a 27 percent increase in underlying profits. At the other end, media group Schibsted (Oslo Stock Exchange: SCHA-NO) fell over 7 percent after announcing a new share issue. Shares of Dutch firm Akzo Nobel (Euronext Amsterdam: AKZA-NL) were up by 1.7 percent after Japanese firm Nippon Paint made an all cash offer Tuesday to buy Axalta, Reuters reported, putting an end to Axalta's merger talks with Akzo Nobel. In commodity markets, oil prices edged higher on expectations of a production cut next week at an OPEC meeting, and on news that a major pipeline cut Canadian crude flows to the U.S.. Brent rose to trade around $63.13 while WTI was up around $57.80 a barrel in afternoon trade. UK budget takes the spotlight Aside from individual stock news, investors have turned their attention to the U.K., as Finance Minister Philip Hammond presented the government's latest budget. During his speech, Hammond stated that the U.K. would be setting aside £3 billion ($3.96 billion) when it comes to Brexit. "The negotiations on our future relationship with the European Union are in a critical phase," Hammond said, at a time when the ruling Conservative party is facing challenges surrounding the economy and on a political front. "We have already invested almost £700 million in Brexit preparations and today I am setting aside over the next two years, another £3 billion and I stand ready to allocate further sums if and when needed," he said. Brexit, however, wasn't the only focus of the U.K.'s budget. During his speech, Hammond went on to discuss the technological revolution that's materializing, on productivity, housing, debt and the OBR growth forecasts. Sterling (Exchange: GBP=) fluctuated against the dollar during Hammond's remarks yet rose afterwards, while the FTSE 100 was up over 0.5 percent. British housebuilders however slipped during trade, with Barratt Development (London Stock Exchange: BDEV-GB) , Persimmon (London Stock Exchange: PSN-GB) , and Berkeley Group (London Stock Exchange: BKG-GB) all off 2 percent or more each. Later, there will be flash consumer confidence numbers in the euro zone out at 3.00 p.m. London time. Meanwhile overseas, investors will be paying close attention to the release of the Federal Open Market Committee's minutes from its last meeting. The minutes are due to be published after the European market close.
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