European stocks edge higher ahead of UK budget, Powell's Congress testimony
Investing.com — European stock markets edged higher Wednesday in cautious trading, as investors awaited the U.K. Budget as well as congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, ahead of a European Central Bank rate-setting meeting later in the week.
At 03:10 ET (08:10 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.1% higher, the CAC 40 in France traded largely flat, while the FTSE 100 in the U.K. climbed 0.1%.
European equities have started the session on a positive note, helped by stronger than expected German trade data for January, but investors appear to be wary of getting too involved ahead of the start of testimony from Fed chief Jerome Powell in front of Congress starting later in the session.
Powell’s comments are likely to be closely studied for clues as to if and when the U.S. central bank is ready to start cutting interest rates.
Back in Europe, German exports rose more than expected at the start of the year thanks to rising demand from EU countries and China, rising by 6.3% in January compared with the previous month.
This result has offered hope that the worst of the slowdown affecting the region’s largest economy might be over, lifting sentiment.
Eurozone January retail sales figures are also due later in the session, and are expected to show a steadying after December’s sharp fall.
The European Central Bank meets on Thursday, and is widely expected to leave interest rates at a record 4%. The focus is set to be on when rates might start to fall, following eurozone inflation slipping closer to the central bank’s 2% medium-term target in February.
Also of interest will be the announcement of the British government's budget, at which Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to cut some taxes, in an
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