Europe before the bell: The Fed, Middle East and UK CPI
Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com
EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: THE FED, MIDDLE EAST AND UK CPI
European shares were set for a softer start on Wednesday with a highly anticipated rate cut by the Fed monopolising traders' attention, overshadowing risks of an escalation of Middle East tensions following deadly pager blasts across Lebanon.
Militant group Hezbollah promised to retaliate against Israel after accusing it of detonating pagers on Tuesday, killing nine people and wounding nearly 3,000 others.
EuroSTOXX50 futures inched 0.04% lower, while FTSE futures fell 0.2%, moving just a tick lower after data showed British inflation stood at an annual rate of 2.2% in August, in line with expectations and unchanged from July.
"UK inflation remains subdued, though underlying elements continue to inch higher... today’s figures suggest that the Bank will not be in a hurry to pursue back-to-back policy easing," said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, strategist at Raymond James.
In European corporate news, Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO will be watched after Bloomberg reported the company expects its diabetes drug Ozempic will "very likely" be on the U.S. government's 2027 list of price negotiations.
Commerzbank CBKG.DE could remain volatile. The German finance ministry denied a report saying it remained committed to selling its entire stake in the bank despite UniCredit's CRDI.MI interest in potentially buying the lender.
In M&A, Reckitt Benckiser RKT.L has reportedly launched early discussions for a sale of its homecare assets, which could be worth over 6 billion pounds ($7.89 billion).
Insurer Legal & General LGEN.L has agreed to sell its UK housebuilder CALA Group for 1.35 billion pounds ($1.78 billion).
(Danilo Masoni)
*****
EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS
TRADERS STILL GUESSING IN FINAL FED COUNTDOWN CLICK HERE
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
