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European stocks close 1.1% higher, British pound hits six-month high after U.S. inflation print

Elliot Smith
Holly Ellyatt

This is CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

European markets rallied Tuesday as U.S. inflation figures came in lower than forecast.

European markets


The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 1.1% higher provisionally, trimming earlier gains of up to 2.2%. Technology stocks rose 3.1% as all sectors and major bourses climbed.

The British pound and euro both gained around 1% against the dollar, with sterling hitting a six-month high of 1.242 against the greenback shortly after the announcement. The euro also reached a six-month high of 1.0659.

U.S. inflation for November was recorded at 7.1% annually, versus a Dow Jones estimate of 7.3%. It was down from an annual gain of 7.7% in October.

The consumer price index, which measures a wide basket of goods and services, rose 0.1% on the previous month, below an estimate of 0.3%.

U.S. stocks also moved higher and the 10-year Treasury yield fell below 3.5% after the reading came in.

Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank, said the softer than expected print had focused attention on how U.S. Federal Reserve policy will evolve next year, but not changed expectations of a 50 basis point rate hike being announced at its meeting Wednesday.

"The softer data will strengthen the likelihood that inflation is also in the process of peaking in the Eurozone and the UK, although there are different dynamics at play and, in any case, it is likely to be some months before central banks reach peak rates in either the US, EZ or UK," she said.

Thursday will also see monetary policy decisions from the Bank of England, European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.

Stocks on the move: Food delivery firms pop

Food delivery firms Delivery Hero and Hellofresh rocketed to the top of the Stoxx 600 during late afternoon trading, adding 10.8% and 8.6%, respectively. Software company Nemetschek climbed 8.4%.

It came as tech stocks rose 4.3% and European markets rallied on a lower-than-expected U.S. inflation print.

— Jenni Reid

Sterling and euro rally as U.S. inflation cools

The British pound and the euro both hit six-month highs against the greenback after figures showed U.S. inflation slowed to 0.1% in November.

The euro was up 1.2% to 1.0663 against the dollar and sterling was 1.3% higher to 1.2432 around an hour after the reading was published.

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European markets shoot higher on U.S. inflation print

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index traded 1.7% higher after U.S. inflation for November came in lower than expected, extending earlier gains of around 0.7%.

Retail and technology stocks added 3.7%, as the financial services sector was 3.1% higher.

The CPI report comes the same day the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day meeting, and with the Bank of England, European Central Bank and Swiss National Bank due to make rate hike decisions Thursday.

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Bank of England calls for “urgent international action” on non-bank financial institutions

The Bank of England on Tuesday called for "urgent international action" from regulators on non-bank financial institutions after it was forced to rescue U.K. pension funds in September.

A number of pension funds were hours from collapse when the central bank intervened in the long-dated bond market. It came after a series of massive moves in interest rates on U.K. government debt exposed vulnerabilities in liability-driven investment (LDI) funds, which are held by U.K. pension schemes.

The Bank emphasized the need for regulators across jurisdictions to strengthen the resilience of the sector, saying "there is a need for urgent international action to reduce risks in non-bank finance."

Read more.

— Elliot Smith

Stocks on the move: Telefonica down 4%, Wacker Chemie up 4%

Shares of Spanish telecoms company Telefonica fell 4.6% in early trade to the bottom of the Stoxx 600, while at the top of the index, Germany's Wacker Chemie added 4.4%.

UK unemployment rises to 3.7%, pay exceeds expectations

Britain's unemployment rate rose to 3.7% in the three months to October, up from 3.6% in the three months to September, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday.

Despite the apparent cooling the labor market, regular pay jumped by 6.1% in the period between August and October, above expectations but well below inflation, which came in at a 41-year-high of 11.1% in October.

"With the Bank of England already fearing the country is in a recession, labor market conditions remain tight with fewer foreign workers and increased hesitancy among people to take up new roles due to increased economic uncertainty, said Marcus Brookes, chief investment officer at Quilter Investors.

"With employment remaining lower than it was before the pandemic, the U.K. is badly lagging its peers in developed economies and may be in need of a policy boost to fix its labor market conundrum and get more people who are economically inactive back into work."

- Elliot Smith

German inflation 10% in November, in line with expectations

The German consumer price index (CPI) rose by 10% year-on-year in November, shrinking by 0.5% from the previous month, in line with forecasts.

On an EU-harmonized basis, annual inflation was 11.3% while there was no monthly change.

- Elliot Smith

CNBC Pro: Apple vs. Microsoft? One outperforming fund manager picks his favorite

Both Apple and Microsoft's share prices have tanked this year — and if investors are looking to buy the dip, there's a clear winner, according to one chief investment officer.

Richard-Mark Dodds told CNBC Pro the choice is clear: as one of them spends money on share buybacks, the other is making investments to further its business.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

CNBC Pro: Goldman Sachs ups its price target on one athleisure stock, giving it over 30% upside

Goldman Sachs may have taken this popular sportwear retailer off its list of top stock picks, but the bank says the stock is still a buy.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Zavier Ong

CNBC Pro: 'Global contenders': BofA names stocks with earnings momentum that look cheap

BofA has identified a bunch of stocks it says are "inexpensive" but have strong earnings momentum and price momentum.

"Our back-testing and subsequent performance show that stocks with above-average earnings momentum tended to outperform, stocks with above-average price momentum tended to outperform, but stocks with both the characteristics tended to perform even better," it wrote.

BofA said that these "global contenders" have outperformed the MSCI AC World Index by 6.9% year-to-date.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets are expected to open higher Wednesday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 41 points lower at 8,470, Germany's DAX up 60 points at 18,783, France's CAC 22 points higher at 8,249 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 142 points at 34,945, according to data from IG.

Earnings are due from Allianz, EON, RWE, Commerzbank, Thyssenkrupp, TUI, Bilfinger, ABN Amro, Telecom Italia, Burberry and Ubisoft. The latest preliminary gross domestic product reading for the euro zone is also due.

— Holly Ellyatt