Europe midday: Stocks little changed as investors bide their time ahead of US CPI numbers

(Sharecast News) - European stocks were trading modestly higher despite nerves ahead of some key economic data, including a closely watched reading on US inflation. The Stoxx 600 index was up just 0.06%, with roughly 0.4% across Germany, Italy and Spain partly offset by moderate falls in the UK.

"Investors are on the edge of their seats, waiting for the latest scoop on US inflation data to take a fresh direction in both stock and bond markets," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

The US consumer price index, due out at 1330 GMT, was expected to show that annual inflation slowed to 3.3% in October from 3.7% the month before. However, core inflation (which excludes volatile items like food and energy) was forecast to remain at September's level of 4.1% - still firmly above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

"The dollar index remains offered, the US political risks are casting shadows, and there's a rising chorus of opinions playing the guessing game on when and how much the Fed might trim the rates next year," Ozkardeskaya said.

It was a busy day for economic data in Europe too, with Eurostat reporting that euro area gross domestic product shrank by 0.1% quarter-on-quarter over the three months to September.

The ZEW Institute's closely followed gauge for economic sentiment in Germany on the other hand jumped from -1.1 in October to 9.8 for November (consensus: 5.0).

In company news, Glencore was performing well in London, with its shares up 3% after announcing plans to spend $6.9bn on a 77% stake in Teck Resources' steelmaking coal business in Canada's Rocky Mountains, Elk Valley Resources. EVR, located between British Columbia and Alberta, produced 21.5m tonnes of steelmaking coal in 2022, generating a pre-tax profit of C$6bn (£3.5bn).

German car parts group Continental AG was 4% higher after Monday's news that it is cutting 5,500 job cuts in a major restructuring move.