European stock markets closed significantly higher on Wednesday. Investors reacted positively to new inflation data from the United Kingdom, which showed inflation falling to 3 per cent in January. This represents the lowest level since March last year. A slower rise in prices for transport, food, and non-alcoholic drinks primarily drove this decline. Consequently, consumer price growth cooled from the 3.4 per cent recorded in December.
In London, the FTSE 100 index climbed 1.3 per cent. Meanwhile, the Amsterdam AEX index rose 1.5 per cent to 1010.54 points, and the MidKap increased by 1.2 per cent. Stock markets in Frankfurt and Paris also recorded gains of up to 1.1 per cent.
On the Damrak, chip company Besi gained 3.8 per cent ahead of its results release on Thursday. Its peers, ASML and ASMI, followed suit with rises of 3.8 and 3.7 per cent respectively. Steel giant ArcelorMittal led the main funds with a 4.2 per cent increase. In contrast, chemicals distributor IMCD dropped 4.7 per cent. The company reported weaker demand and cited challenging market conditions due to import tariffs and geopolitical unrest.
Insurance firm ASR dipped 0.4 per cent, despite CEO Jos Baeten reporting a strong 2025 and a new €190 million share buyback programme. Conversely, Unilever fell 1.5 per cent following rating downgrades from Berenberg and DZ Bank.
In Frankfurt, Bayer plummeted 7.1 per cent. Its subsidiary, Monsanto, proposed a $7.3 billion settlement to resolve legal battles in the US regarding the weedkiller Roundup. Meanwhile, in London, Vodafone rose 0.4 per cent after announcing the sale of its 50 per cent stake in VodafoneZiggo to Liberty Global for €1 billion in cash. Finally, French retailer Carrefour dropped 4.8 per cent in Paris. The company posted weak results and announced it is considering exiting the Belgian market to focus on France, Spain, and Brazil.
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
