European stocks traded mixed in cautious trade on Wednesday as investors react to weak German retail sales and Eurozone manufacturing PMI data. <\/p>\n
Data from Destatis revealed that retail sales in Germany fell by 5.4 percent in April compared to the previous month, due to a record fall in food sales.<\/p>\n
S&P Global’s final manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the euro zone fell to 54.6 in May from April’s 55.5 due to supply shortages, price pressures and a fall in demand. <\/p>\n
U.K. house prices grew 11.2 percent on a yearly basis in May, following the 12.1 percent increase in April, data from the Nationwide Building Society showed earlier in the day.<\/p>\n
Eurozone bond yields extended their climb as investors factored in a 50 basis-point rate hike from the ECB in July. The bank’s main deposit rate stands at minus 0.5 percent and has been negative since 2014.<\/p>\n
The pan European Stoxx 600 was down 0.2 percent at 442.53 while the German DAX rose 0.3 percent and France’s CAC 40 index edged up 0.2 percent. <\/p>\n
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was marginally lower at 7,603 ahead of a long holiday weekend.<\/p>\n
London markets<\/span> will remain closed on Thursday and Friday for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.<\/p>\n National Grid gave up 1.7 percent and Vodafone lost 2.9 percent on going ex-dividend.<\/p>\n Dr. Martens shares soared nearly 29 percent after the British footwear brand reported record revenue in the 12 months to March 2022 and upped its outlook for the fiscal year 2023.<\/p>\n Tullow Oil added 2.4 percent. The oil & gas exploration firm has reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended all-share merger of equals with Capricorn Energy Plc.<\/p>\n French building materials firm Saint-Gobain was moving lower after it agreed to acquire Kaycan, Ltd., a family-owned manufacturer and distributor of exterior building materials in Canada and in the United States, for US$928 million or about 860 million euros in cash.<\/p>\n Drug major Sanofi gained around 1 percent. The company said that the U.S. FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to efanesoctocog alfa (BIVV001) for the treatment of people with hemophilia A.<\/p>\n Nordea Bank rose 0.8 percent after saying it has suspended two employees on the suspicion of loans being issued on false grounds. <\/p>\n