UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

U.S. inflation report on tap

European stocks marched higher Wednesday, with Swiss banking heavyweight Credit Suisse AG rising in the wake of its financial results, as investors took on risk before the release of a widely anticipated report on U.S. inflation.

How markets are moving

The Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.8% to 373.49. All sectors moved higher, led by the tech and utilities groups. On Tuesday, the index lost 0.6% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-run-into-the-red-as-wall-street-sets-course-for-pullback-2018-02-13).

Germany's DAX 30 index picked up 0.8% to 12,293.25, and France's CAC 40 index gained 0.8% to 5,148.47.

Spain's IBEX 35 also rose 0.8%, to 9,726.60. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 7,220.19.

The euro bought $1.2349, down slightly from $1.2354 late Tuesday in New York.

What's driving the market

European stock gains appeared to be stoked by Wall Street's performance on Tuesday. U.S. stocks posted a third straight winning session (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/third-straight-win-for-us-stocks-in-doubt-as-dow-futures-tumble-more-than-100-points-2018-02-13), and U.S. stock futures were gaining on Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-on-pace-for-4th-win-in-a-row-as-market-braces-for-inflation-data-2018-02-14).

Wednesday's rally for European equities came before the release of the U.S. inflation report (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/inflation-fears-haunt-wall-street-again-but-investors-might-just-be-having-a-bad-dream-2018-02-10) for January. The recent spike in volatility and violent selloffs in global markets have emanated in part from worries that higher inflation will lead the Federal Reserve to hike up interest rates at a faster-than-expected pace.

The inflation data, alongside U.S. retail sales, are due at 1:30 p.m. London time, or 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

Ahead of that, Germany's gross domestic product by 0.6% in the fourth quarter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-gdp-eases-to-25-in-q4-as-exports-pick-up-2018-02-14) and by 2.9% a year earlier. The growth was aided by demand for German exports, although the figures indicated slight easing from 0.7% in the fourth quarter.

What strategists are saying

"Bourses across Europe have started the day in positive territory, taking the lead from a positive close in the U.S.," said Fiona Cincotta, market analyst at City Index, in a note.

"Given the market's concerns of higher inflation and faster interest rate hikes, a higher than expected CPI or retail sales reading would in fact feed these fears. In this case there is a chance that we could see another episode of last week: stock markets and bond markets falling, whilst higher yields would boost the dollar."

Stock movers

Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.EB) (CSGN.EB) gained 3.8% after the bank posted a narrower-than-expected loss of 2.13 billion Swiss francs (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/credit-suisse-loses-1-bln-in-2017-on-us-tax-hit-2018-02-14)in the fourth quarter. The lender did post its third straight full-year net loss.

Sky PLC shares (SKY.LN) leapt 3.4% after the broadcaster extended its rights to show Premier League soccer matches through 2022 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sky-extends-premier-league-rights-to-2022-2018-02-14), at a cost of 1.19 billion pounds ($1.65 billion) a year.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 14, 2018 05:07 ET (10:07 GMT)

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