Renault supports European shares ahead of Fed rate outcome
Renault jumps on Honda-Nissan alliance report
Fed seen cutting rates, outlook in focus
Commerzbank climbs as Unicredit ups stake
Updates with London morning prices
By Sruthi Shankar
Dec 18 (Reuters) -European stocks edged higher on Wednesday, lifted byRenault ontalks of a potential merger between Japan's Honda 7267.T and Nissan 7201.T, though gains were capped on cautionahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision and outlook.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX was up 0.1% by 0925 GMT, whilestocks in Asia were also ina wait-and-watch mode.
French carmaker Renault RENA.PA rose 6%, leading gains on the STOXX 600, after areport of a possible tie-up between Japan's top carmakers. Renault owns a 36% stake in Nissan.
The Fed is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points (bps) later on Wednesday, in what some observers are calling a "hawkish cut", set to be delivered alongside policymakers' updated interest rate outlooks and economic forecasts.
U.S. Treasury yields have, meanwhile, climbed to multi-week highs, weighing on global stocks recently,as investors scaled back bets on the pace of Fed ratecuts next year.
"Recent macro data suggest (U.S.) economy activity remains resilient, that the softening of the labor market is contained and that progress on disinflation has stalled over the last few months," Unicredit analysts said in a note.
"It likely means that a slower (the new buzzword is "gradual") pace of rate cuts lies ahead, which we anticipate will mean one 25bp cut per quarter in 1H25 while data dependence is maintained."
The UK's FTSE 100 .FTSE rose 0.4% on Wednesday as sterling came under pressure ahead of the Bank of England's (BoE) rate decision on Thursday, where it is expected to keep rateson hold.
British inflation hit an eight-month high in November, but the rise in services prices - watched closely by the BoE as an underlying measure of inflationary pressures - held steady, offering the central bank a little bit of relief.
Among other stocks,Commerzbank CBKG.DE jumped 3.3% after Italian bank UniCredit CRDI.MI said it had raised its potential stake in the German lender to 28% by signing new derivatives contracts.
British fintech firm Wise WISEa.L advanced 4.2%, touching a more than three-year high.
Grenergy GREG.MC surged 19.2% after the Spanish renewables company agreed to sell an asset portfolio in Chile to ContourGlobal, a KKR company KKR.N, for an enterprise value of $962 million.
Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema
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.
