European shares rise amid global relief following Powell comments

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4%, tracking global stocks, as Powell said the U.S. economy was ready for a tighter monetary policy but it may take several months to make a decision on reducing the Fed's $9 trillion holding. All eyes are on the U.S. consumer prices data, due at 1330 GMT, with economists forecasting a rise to 7% in December in what would be its highest level in nearly four decades.

European shares rose on Wednesday, taking cues from overnight gains on Wall Street after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sounded less hawkish than expected in a Congressional testimony. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4%, tracking global stocks, as Powell said the U.S. economy was ready for a tighter monetary policy but it may take several months to make a decision on reducing the Fed's $9 trillion holding.

All eyes are on the U.S. consumer prices data, due at 1330 GMT, with economists forecasting a rise to 7% in December in what would be its highest level in nearly four decades. Miners led gains, advancing 2.4% after factory-gate inflation data showed more room for policy easing in top metals consumer China, while tech stocks rose for the second straight session.

"Powell's speech had no surprises, so yields haven't risen further. When you have yields stabilising, growth names are back," said Roland Kaloyan, head of European equity strategy at Societe Generale. The STOXX 600 on Tuesday logged its best day in nearly three weeks as technology stocks snapped back, while investors looked ahead to a positive fourth-quarter earnings season.

Profit for companies listed on the STOXX 600 is expected to rise 48.5% in the fourth quarter to 108.7 billion euros ($123.5 billion) from a year earlier, a slight dip from the prior estimate of 49.3%, Refinitiv data showed. "Overall it should be another good season, but several companies communicated a lot of the good in 2021. What could be a catalyst for the market is going to be the guidance for 2022," said Kaloyan.

German software company TeamViewer surged 14.4% after announcing upbeat preliminary fourth-quarter and full-year results. French cloud computing company OVHcloud climbed 6.3% following a 13.9% rise in first-quarter revenue and said it was on track to achieve its full-year targets.

Just Eat Takeaway.com, Europe's largest meal delivery company, inched 2.4% higher after posting a 14% increase in orders in the fourth quarter and maintained its financial forecasts for 2022. However, Dutch firm Philips plunged 13.6% after saying it expects fourth-quarter core profit to drop around 40%, hit by a global shortage of parts and a recall of ventilators.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)