European Stocks Mostly Rise – Adyen Jumps After Earnings

Adyen drives the EuroStoxx 50

Losers in trading were the shares of the meal-kit delivery company Hellofresh. They fell by 3 percent after business figures. The profit outlook for the current year had been confirmed, but the outlook was described as less promising. The price loss continued the recent correction of the Hellofresh share following a phase of strong gains, during which the stock had sometimes risen sharply in the course of the year so far.

Hellofresh disappoints investors

Market analyst Andreas Lipkow of broker CMC Markets pointed to the confident underlying sentiment of investors. "Die Investoren setzen darauf, dass sich die gestiegenen Energiepreise nicht in Inflationsszenarien zeigen, sondern von den Unternehmen weggedrückt werden und sich die Konjunktur mit wieder konsumfreudigeren Verbrauchern weiter erholen wird", Lipkow noted. This expectation was also reflected in the cues from the US, where the major indices had gained following the most recently published consumer price data.

US inflation data supports sentiment

The US inflation data had been awaited with anticipation on Wednesday evening. The publication of the US consumer prices turned out moderate in the view of many investors and fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve could gradually ease its monetary policy course. Falling interest rates would additionally relieve companies and consumers and continue to support the stock markets, traders said.

Logistics stocks also drew attention: Hapag-Lloyd was among the winners with significant premiums, while Danish competitor Moller-Maersk also trended friendly. Swiss logistics group Kühne + Nagel also rose. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was trading at one point with a premium of 0.3 percent.

Outlook: Interest rates and economy in focus

On the currency markets, the euro was last seen slightly weaker at 1.1620 dollars. The franc remained stable against the euro. Yields on ten-year German federal bonds were unchanged at around 2.5 percent. The bond markets thus moved in calm waters and gave the stock exchanges no negative impulses.

Other industry observers pointed out that this year's reporting season for companies in the EuroStoxx 50 had so far gone better than initially expected. Although there had been individual disappointments, positive surprises overall predominated. This had somewhat contained the recently reignited economic concerns and paved the way for a moderate recovery on European stock exchanges.

On the bond market, the development of interest rates remains the most important risk factor. Should inflation rates rise more sharply again in the coming months, central banks could postpone their interest rate cut plans. Conversely, a significant decline in inflation would open up further room for interest rate cuts – and provide additional impetus to stock markets, particularly interest-rate-sensitive sectors such as tech and real estate.