Europe close: Stocks gain despite 'hot' US inflation data
European stocks were higher as France's CAC 40 and Britain’s FTSE 100 notched up fresh record highs.
That was despite the release of a hotter-than-expected report on US producer prices, alongside soft data for manufacturing and housing construction.
"The Tuesday US CPI release did raise questions over whether this disinflation phase may be losing traction amid a mere 0.1% decline," said IG senior market analyst Josh Mahony.
"Unfortunately, this afternoons PPI figure provided a similar warning, with the January headline reading of 0.7% signalling the biggest monthly rise in in seven-months. This is bad news for markets, with US equities heading south on the prospect of a prolonged period of higher rates at the Fed."
The CAC was up 0.87% to 7364.9 points, within touching distance of the 7,384.86 hit in January 2022, while the FTSE index was up 0.18% at 8,012.53.
All the good news helped lift the pan-regional Stoxx 600 index 0.19% to 465.24, with all the other major bourses also higher.
In equity news, shares in French IT group Atos rebounded after the company said it had received an indicative offer from Airbus for Atos' minority stake of 29.9% in Evidian, adding that its board had decided to continue talks in view of a deal.
"Atos does not intend to grant any exclusivity to Airbus, and no assurances can be made that the parties will successfully negotiate and enter into a definitive set of agreements," Atos said in a statement.
British Gas owner Centrica also rose sharply after recording annual profits of £3.3bn.
French drinks maker Pernod Ricard shares gained 3% as the company posted forecast-beating first-half profit and sales, helped by price increases in its key Chinese and US markets.
Banks were also in focus with Standard Chartered shares up as the Asia-focused bank reported a 28% rise in annual pretax profit and unveiled a new $1bn share buyback program.
Germany's Commerzbank surged as net profit rose a better-than-expected 12% in the fourth quarter.