By Shristi Achar A
(Reuters) -European stocks struggled for direction on Wednesday after closing at a record high in the previous session as investors waited for more economic data due later this week, while H&M (ST:) shares surged following upbeat quarterly results.
The pan-European edged 0.1% lower, as of 0923 GMT.
Oil and gas shares were the biggest drag, down 1%, mirroring weak oil prices on rising inventories. [O/R]
A 10.6% tumble in shares of Swedish software firm Fortnox also weighed on the index.
H&M topped the gains, rising 13.1% after the world’s second-largest listed fashion retailer beat first-quarter operating profit estimates.
Still, the index is eyeing a second straight quarterly gain, with a 6.6% gain so far.
Recent dovish signals from major central banks and a rally in technology stocks powered by the artificial intelligence fervour have spurred STOXX 600 to record highs.
“This week is likely to be dominated by position squaring as we enter into a holiday period. The key data for the week is on Friday, when the market is closed,” said Mohit Kumar, chief economist Europe at Jefferies.
Focus will shift to the euro-zone consumer and economic sentiment data for March later in the day. The U.S. personal expenditure consumption data, due on Friday, will be closely watched for further cues on the Federal Reserve’s timing of interest rate cuts.
“It doesn’t matter whether we get the first-rate cut in June or July, what matters is that central banks, globally, are moving towards an easing cycle,” Kumar added.
Adding to the dovish signals, ECB board member Piero Cipollone said the European Central Bank is increasingly confident that inflation will fall back to its 2% target by mid-2025 as wage growth moderates.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s central bank held its key rate unchanged at 4.00% as expected and said that inflation pressures had now eased enough for the policy rate to be cut in the coming months.
Among other major stocks, Deutsche Bank gained 3.4% and notched a six-year high after Morgan Stanley upgraded the German lender to “overweight.” The stock propped up 40 index 0.1%.
DS Smith jumped 7% after the British paper and packaging firm said it was in talks with International Paper for an all-stock offer valued at 5.72 billion pounds ($7.22 billion).
European markets will be shut on Friday and Monday for Easter holidays.
