In the early session, the European stock exchange was trading mostly in positive territory although some indexes did not follow the trend. The market optimism was fueled by the speech of US Fed Chair Jerome Powell who testified before the Senate the day before on the results reached in the past six months.
The head of the Federal Reserve made it clear that the US regulator intends to leave the previous monetary policy unchanged. The easing of the fiscal policy was necessary to save the country's economy that had been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The decision is based on the statistical data on inflation and employment. At the moment, these key indicators of economic development are far from the target levels that the government has set. In this regard, the US authorities have to maintain the key interest rate near the zero level and need to continue the large-scale purchases of government bonds. Moreover, this policy will remain until the economic data confirms real progress.
Meanwhile, the Fed pins high hopes on the mass vaccination against Covid-19 which is being rapidly rolled out in the country. Besides, another supporting factor is the new stimulus package that should be approved in the near future. This will create greater prospects for economic growth.
The economic indicators of the EU countries show a mixed picture. In particular, Germany's GDP for the fourth quarter of last year increased by 0.3%, while earlier estimates indicated a rise of only 0.1%. On a yearly basis, the main indicator dropped by 3.7%, slightly less than the preliminary forecasts of 4%. Notably, no one expected the data revision, and its surprising results provided some support to the markets.
In the meantime, the EU consumer prices index for January 2021 rose by 0.9% in terms of the general annual rate, according to the European Statistical Office. At the same time, the inflation rate has also reached its yearly highs. In January, the prices were 0.2% higher than in December 2020. In this case, the data has come fully in line with the preliminary forecasts.
The general index of large European companies, the STOXX Europe 600, is now up by 0.36% reaching a new mark of 412.9.
The German DAX Index rose by 0.63%, posting the biggest gain this morning. France's CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.18%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index gained 0.57% while Italy's FTSE MIB index showed a slight rise of 0.07%. The UK FTSE 100 index did not share the positive trend and was among the weak performers – it fell by 0.11%.
