© Reuters
By Peter Nurse
Investing.com – European stock markets are expected to open higher on Wednesday, helped by signs of recovery in China’s important manufacturing base ahead of a deluge of economic data.
As of 0200 ET (0700 GMT), the contract in Germany was trading 0.2% higher, in France it was up 0.3% and the contract in the UK was up 0.3%.
China’s manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than a decade in February, as the recovery of the world’s second-largest economy gained momentum after the easing of its severe COVID-19 restrictions.
The widely watched index rose to 52.6 in February, data showed on Wednesday, a jump from the January figure of 50.1.
China fared even better, rising to 56.3 in February, well above the previous month’s reading of 54.4.
This growth news in one of Europe’s major export markets will give a boost to European markets on Wednesday.
That said, gains are likely to be limited after inflation data from the North Rhine-Westphalia region, Germany’s industrial heartland, showed an annual rise to 8.5% in February, from 8.3 % of the previous month.
Inflation data on both and were higher than expected on Tuesday, suggesting that the European Central Bank will continue to raise borrowing costs in the coming months.
Investors will have more economic data to analyze during the course of the session, including the S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for the , as well as numbers.
In the corporate sector, the earnings of the British homebuilder Khaki (LON:) will be in the spotlight, while Cellnex (BME:), Europe’s largest cell tower operator, reported a reduction in its full-year net loss as it hit its headline target.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected Chinese manufacturing activity data boosted optimism in the recovery of the world’s biggest crude importer.
This has eclipsed another sharp rise in crude oil reserves in the United States, the world’s biggest oil consumer and producer.
Stock data showed an increase of 6.2 million barrels last week. Officers must report later in session.
As of 02:00 ET, futures were trading 0.6% higher at $77.53 a barrel, while the contract was up 0.6% at $83.98.
It was also up 0.3% at $1,841.70 an ounce, while trading 0.3% higher at $1.0607.
