European stocks gained on Wednesday after softer-than-expected US services sector data, while investors also assessed softening euro zone inflation data that cemented the case for the European Central Bank to start cutting interest rates.
rose 2.6 per cent to €21.07 after the airline said it had flown 183.7 million passengers over the 12 months to the end of March, 9 per cent more than the number who travelled with it in the previous financial year.Smurfit KappaThe blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed little changed, as a stronger pound overshadowed a boost from heavyweight mining, energy and bank stocks. Precious metal miners firmed 2.
Renishaw fell 2.5 per cent after Germany’s Siemens said it does not intend to make an offer for the engineering company.The continent-wide Stoxx 600 closed 0.3 per cent higher, recovering from a two-week intraday low. The index has been hitting record highs, with hopes of rate cuts this year and optimism around artificial intelligence buoying sentiment over the past two quarters.
Italy’s FinecoBank gained 6 per cent after analysts at JP Morgan upgraded the online bank and brokerage firm to “overweight” from “neutral”, while German chipmaker Infineon rose 2.4 per cent on a Morgan Stanley upgrade to “overweight.”