From the very beginning of the trading session on Tuesday, key European indices have been increasing spectacularly thanks to strong macroeconomic statistics for the region.
The aggregate indicator of the leading companies in Europe, the STOXX Europe 600, increased by 1.68% to 440.96 points at one point.
The highest results among the components of the STOXX Europe 600 index were shown by the securities of the Polish logistics company InPost S.A., which increased in price by 8.4%.
The main outsiders here were the shares of the Norwegian semiconductor manufacturer Nordic Semiconductor ASA, which decreased by 2.5%
The French CAC 40 was up 1.29%, the German DAX was up 1.47%, and the British FTSE 100 was up 0.86%.
By the way, over the past month, the leading indicators of the European stock market have significantly decreased: the German DAX lost 1.2%, the French CAC 40 – 3.7%, and the British FTSE 100 – 2%. The main downward factors for stock exchange indicators in April were investors' concerns about the increase in base interest rates by the US Federal Reserve, hard lockdowns against the background of the spread of COVID-19 in China and the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Analysts predict that the combination of these factors will cause the fall of key stock indexes in Europe this month.
On Tuesday, the focus of European traders was on macroeconomic statistics for the region. Thus, according to the second estimate of economists from the Statistical Office of the European Union, in January-March 2022, the gross domestic product (GDP) of 19 eurozone countries increased by 5.1% in annual terms and by 0.3% in quarterly terms. According to the first assessment of experts, each of the above indicators was lower by 0.1 percentage points.
A day earlier, the European Commission lowered the GDP growth forecasts of the euroregion states for 2022 to 2.7% from 4%, announced in February. At the same time, the forecast of an increase in the indicator for next year worsened to 2.3% from 2.7%.According to the National Statistical Office of Great Britain, the unemployment rate in the country in the last quarter sank to 3.7% from the level of 3.8% in December-February. This quarterly result was the lowest since 1974. At the same time, experts predicted that the indicator would remain at the same level. In addition, in April, the number of applications for unemployment benefits in the UK fell to just under 57,000.
France also contributed its positive contribution to the overall statistics on the bloc. Thus, in the first quarter of this year, the unemployment rate in the country fell to the lowest level in the last 14 years – to 7.3%.
Another important stimulus for the growth of the European market on Tuesday was corporate news.
The shares of the British tobacco company Imperial Brands jumped in value by almost 7%, thanks to the release of positive financial results. In the first quarter of the current financial year, Imperial Brands managed to show growth even despite leaving the Russian market.
The quotes of one of the world's largest mobile operators Vodafone Group PLC are losing 2.8% in price on the company's forecasts that profit growth in 2022 will be lower than analysts' expectations due to difficult economic conditions.
The capitalization of ContourGlobal, which is engaged in the purchase, development and management of energy generating enterprises, soared by 33% at the time of writing. The main catalyst for the spectacular rise in shares was the news that the American investment company KKR is buying an electricity production company for $2.16 billion.
The share price of the Swiss chemical company Clariant is growing by 8.3%. The day before, Clariant management announced that the previously postponed annual financial report will be published on Thursday.
The securities of the French energy company Engie S.A. increased by 5.8% on the background of the publication of strong reporting for the first quarter. Over the past period, the company's revenue has almost doubled.
