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European Stocks Rise in Wednesday Trading; UK Inflation Cools in April

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European stock markets closed higher in Wednesday trading as the Stoxx Europe advanced 1.46%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.38%, the FTSE 100 rose 0.99%, France's CAC gained 1.7%, and the Swiss Market Index closed 0.26% higher.

In the UK, the annual consumer price index rose 2.8% in the 12 months to April, down from 3.3% in March. On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.7% in April, compared with a rise of 1.2% a year earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The ONS said housing and household services made the largest contribution to the lower inflation.

Core CPI, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, increased 2.5% in the 12 months to April, down from 3.1% in the 12 months to March.

In corporate news, ASML Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet said that the global semiconductor market will remain "tense" with tight supply for the foreseeable future as demand from artificial intelligence, satellites and robots outpaces industry production, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Fouquet further said that there would likely be sporadic bottlenecks throughout the supply chain of the chip market, which is expected to hit $1.5 trillion by 2030, according to the report.

An ASML spokesperson could not be immediately contacted by.

Shares of the Dutch semiconductor company surged close to 7% in Amsterdam

Shell unit BG International has sold participating interests in three exploration blocks offshore Uruguay to QatarEnergy, which made the announcement Wednesday.

QatarEnergy bought an 18% interest in block OFF-4, with Shell holding 32% and operator APA (APA) accounting for the rest.

Shares of the British oil and gas giant fell 1% in London.

Stellantis and Jaguar Land Rover said Wednesday that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on product development in the US.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The companies aid that any potential deals as a result of the MoU discussions will be subject to customary closing conditions, which includes signing binding definitive agreements.

Shares of the automaker rose 1.5% in Paris.

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DAX Index Climbs; German Producer Prices Up

Germany's blue-chip DAX closed 1.38% higher on Wednesday, as investors assessed fresh economic data alongside the latest updates on the European Union-US trade front.Destatis reported that producer prices rose 1.7% year over year in April 2026, compared with a 0.2% decrease earlier and the market forecast of a 1.5% rise. The reading marks the highest increase since May 2023. The German Federal Statistical Office attributed the growth to higher energy prices, intermediate goods, and capital and durable goods."Today's producer price inflation confirms that a first inflation wave is in full swing. An inflation wave that remains mainly limited to energy prices but is gradually broadening. It won't be long before higher energy prices lead to knock-on effects on transportation and food costs. Needless to say, the longer the war in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz last, the higher the likelihood that the initial energy price shock will not only have knock-on effects but could also be accompanied by additional supply chain frictions and, in turn, a self-enhancing inflationary spiral," ING wrote.Markets also tracked the US-Iran conflict after Tehran warned of broader retaliation if the US resumes strikes, while continued disruptions in Hormuz kept oil prices volatile.Meanwhile, in a bid to avoid higher US tariffs, the European Council and Parliament reached a preliminary agreement on regulations to scrap remaining duties on US industrial imports and grant preferential market access to select goods. The legislation is intended to fulfill the EU's obligations under the July 2025 trade pact.The VDMA industry association, representing the European machinery and equipment manufacturing sector, said the EU should continue negotiations aimed at securing the same 15% tariff ceiling for remaining steel and aluminum derivative products, adding that planning certainty was crucial for manufacturers.In corporate news, Infineon Technologies (IFX.F) was the top gainer on the index, climbing 5.11%, after it launched Moore4Power, an EU-backed semiconductor research and development project focused on smart power electronics, with 62 partners across 15 European countries.Siemens Energy (ENR.F) gained 3.95% after announcing the early extension of its supply agreement with Austria-based energy infrastructure company Asta Group. Asta will continue supplying specialized copper and custom conductor components to all of the German energy technology company's European transformer plants through 2032.

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Asia Markets

UK Shares Rise as Inflation Cools; Marks and Spencer Leads Gainers

London's FTSE 100 closed 0.99% higher on Wednesday as investors digested a faster-than-expected decline in inflation and earnings updates from corporate heavyweights."The larger fall in CPI inflation than forecasters expected, from 3.3% yoy in March to 2.8% yoy in April (consensus and Berenberg: 3.0%) suggests that inflation would have dropped to within a hair's breadth of the Bank of England's (BoE's) 2% target without the Iran war," Berenberg said. "In the months ahead, the upward pressure on prices from the Iran war will spread from petrol and diesel to goods and food and likely lift inflation to over 3.5% in H2. Nonetheless, if the services prices that the BoE can influence most continue to behave, the central bank need not raise interest rates in response."Meanwhile, Wood Mackenzie's Horizons report said a prolonged shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz would represent the most significant threat to global energy markets in decades. "The Strait of Hormuz is the most critical chokepoint in global energy markets, and a prolonged closure would become far more than an energy crisis," said Peter Martin, head of economics at Wood Mackenzie.In corporate news, British retailer Marks and Spencer Group (MKS.L) rose 6.64% to top the blue-chip index after profit attributable to owners of the parent for fiscal 2026 declined to 259.4 million pounds sterling from 295.7 million pounds year over year, while revenue jumped to 17.27 billion pounds from 13.82 billion pounds earlier."M&S has released its FY26 results this morning with FY26 Food profits ahead of expectations, but Fashion, Home & Beauty below. We think Food is likely to have continued its momentum into FY27 so far, but store clothing sales have been somewhat weather impacted and are likely to be seeing a more volatile trend. As such we view the results as more of a positive read for the UK grocers and NEXT (online) than Primark," RBC Capital Markets said.On the flip side, Experian (EXPN.L) dropped 2.95% to become the worst performer on the FTSE 100 even as profit and revenue for fiscal 2026 increased year over year. The data and technology company also commenced a program to repurchase up to $1 billion of shares."FY26 demonstrated robust execution with 11% constant [currency] growth and 8% organic growth including 9% in Q4. Benchmark margins increased 60 [basis points] - ahead of the medium term framework and driving 13% constant fx EPS growth. Growth was stable across the quarters and broad based across geographies and verticals," BofA Global Research said.

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Asia Markets

European Equities Traded in US as ADRs Rise in Wednesday Trading

European equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts rose Wednesday with the S&P Europe Select ADR Index gaining 1.9% to 1,858.59.From continental Europe, the gainers were led by lender Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and biopharmaceutical company Grifols (GRFS), which rose 3.5% and 3.3%, respectively. They were followed by pharmaceutical company Sanofi (SNY) and medical device maker EDAP TMS (EDAP), which were up 2.4% and 0.6%, respectively.The decliners from continental Europe were led by petroleum refiner Equinor (EQNR) and telecommunications company Nokia (NOK), which fell 3% and 1.4%, respectively. They were followed by internet advertising firm Criteo (CRTO) and software company SAP (SAP), which were down 1% and 0.9%, respectively.The gainers from the UK were led by pharmaceutical company Silence Therapeutics (SLN) and biopharmaceutical company Biodexa Pharmaceuticals (BDRX), which climbed 7.1% and 4%, respectively. They were followed by lenders Barclays (BCS) and Lloyds Banking Group (LYG), which each rose 3.4%.The decliners from the UK and Ireland were led by oil and gas companies BP (BP) and Shell (SHEL), which lost 1.3% and 1%, respectively. They were followed by biotech firm Trinity Biotech (TRIB) and tobacco company British American Tobacco (BTI), down 0.9% and 0.5%, respectively.

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