European shares surged ahead at the open on Wednesday, driven by a strong Wall Street performance overnight.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up more than 1% in early deals as investors cast aside inflationary worries and focused on a steady stream of corporate news. Regional bourses were all higher.
“US stock markets appear to be becoming more comfortable with the sharp increase in yields, finishing higher on the day across the board,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
“The increase in yields hasn’t been confined to US bond markets, with the UK gilt yield returning to levels last seen at the end of 2018 at 1.48%, while UK two-year gilt yields hit their highest level in over 10 years at 1.35%.”
“This week’s focus continues to be on tomorrow’s US CPI numbers for January, with most of the market risk being priced towards a reading that could well come at the higher end of expectations. Consequently, this raises the possibility that a downside surprise could prompt a sharp counter reaction in the other direction.”
Shares in Norwegian energy firm Equinor gained as the company posted record pre-tax final-quarter profits, driven by a boom in oil and gas prices and said it will raise its dividend and increase share buybacks.
Danish jewellery maker Pandora jumped 4.3% after the company said it expected sales to improve this year as it reported full-year earnings in line with preliminary results published in December.
Insurer Aegon fell 4.7% after posting a decline in fourth-quarter earnings, with operating profit down 2% at €470m.
Shares in Dutch payments company Adyen soared by more than 11% as it reported a 62% rise in second-half net profit, beating market expectations.
