Investing.com – European stock markets were largely lower on Tuesday as investors digested new corporate earnings ahead of the latest U.S. inflation reports.
At 03:15 ET (0715 GMT), Germany was trading 0.1% lower, France was 0.1% lower and the UK was 0.1% lower.
US inflation will limit activity
European markets consolidated near record levels on Tuesday, with the UK’s FTSE 100 and the European index only hitting record highs on Friday.
Major European indices will trade in tight ranges on Tuesday as traders remain wary of any big bets ahead of inflation figures on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The April US index will be released later in the session, followed by the US index on Wednesday, and investors will be looking for any signs that price pressures are finally easing after months of strong inflation that raised fears that the Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates. this year.
Back in Europe, Germany’s latest report showed inflation in the eurozone’s largest economy appears to be under control, with April’s annual rate confirmed at just 2.2%.
Less exciting news came from the UK as the rate remained at 6.0% excluding bonuses in March, suggesting wage-driven inflation could still be a concern for the Bank of England as it weighs the potential to begin cutting interest rates .
The UK also rose to 4.3% in the three months to March, slightly higher than the 4.2% recorded in the previous period to February.
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Banco de Sabadell sharply increases its takeover offer
In the corporate sector, shares of Bayer (OTC:) rose more than 2% after the German pharmaceutical and biotech giant reported a 1.3% decline in adjusted profit in the first quarter, beating analysts’ forecasts.
Vodafone (NASDAQ:) shares rose despite operating profits falling 75% in the 12 months to the end of March as the telecoms giant adjusted its presence in Europe by selling its Spanish and Italian units and planning a merger with Three in the UK. .
Besides. BHP Group (NYSE:) shares fell 0.5% after Anglo American (JO:) again rejected a takeover bid, saying its improved all-share offer, which was 10% higher than BHP’s original offer, remained significantly higher underestimate the company.
BHP is expected to sweeten Anglo American’s $43 billion offer for a second time.
Raw edges below
Oil prices fell on Tuesday, giving back some of the gains from the previous session, as wildfires in Canada risk disrupting the country’s oil supplies.
By 3:15 a.m. ET, futures were trading 0.1% lower at $79.07 a barrel, while the contract was down 0.1% at $83.28 a barrel.
Both contracts rose more than 1% each on Monday.
Major wildfires have spread across Western Canada, creating potential disruptions to Canadian oil and gas supplies, especially as they approach the key oil hub of Fort McMurray, Alberta.
The city is the closest community to Canada’s largest oil sands fields and was hit hard by wildfires in 2016, knocking out about 1 million barrels a day at the time.
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Additionally, shares rose 0.8% to $2,343.35 an ounce, although they traded marginally lower at 1.0787.