Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Down 0.73%; European Stocks Up

In Australia, losses in the Utilities, Energy and Industrials sectors brought stocks lower after the close on Wednesday. The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.73% at the close in Sydney.

On the S&P/ASX 200, the session’s best performers were Resolute Mining Ltd, rising 6.42% or 0.035 points to trade at 0.580 at the close. Moreover, Nearmap Ltd edged up 4.45% or 0.075 points to end at 1.760. CSR Ltd climbed 4.23% or 0.250 points to 6.160 in late trade.

On the flip side, the worst performers of the session were AusNet Services Ltd, falling 7.71% or 0.145 points to trade at 1.735 at the close. Pointsbet Holdings Ltd shrank 6.26% or 0.79 points to end at 11.82. Also, Pilbara Minerals Ltd lost 5.53% or 0.070 points to 1.195.

On the Sydney Stock Exchange, the number of falling stocks exceeded the number of advancing ones by 825 to 504 and 414 ended unchanged.

CSR Ltd shares rose to 5-year highs, adding 4.23% or 0.250 to 6.160.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX rose 11.09% to 14.361 a new 1-month high.

EU Stocks Edge Higher; FTSE Benefits from U.K. GDP

Better-than-expected U.K. growth data helped the FTSE 100 to outperform. This led to European stocks trading higher on Wednesday, however, moves were limited ahead of key U.S. inflation data.

The DAX in Germany traded 0.1% higher at 3:40 AM ET (0840 GMT). The CAC 40 in France inched up 0.1%, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 added 0.6%. 

Official data on Wednesday showed the British economy was boosted by a stronger-than-expected 2.1% in March from February. Gross domestic product declined by 1.5% in the first three months of 2021 during the country’s third lockdown.

Last week, the Bank of England said it expected the world’s fifth-biggest economy would recover quickly. This will be as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted to grow as a whole by 7.25% this year.

Global stock markets however, are beset by worries that this growth will result in a sharp jump in inflation. This can prompt central banks, particularly the U.S. Federal Reserve to tighten their ultra-easy monetary policies sooner than expected.

Markets will be closely watching the U.S. consumer price index for April. The data is due at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT) and is likely to increase by 0.2% from the previous month. That growth will be a 3.6% jump from last year. 

Such an increase would be the biggest since September 2011. This is while the  year-over-year reading will be distorted by base effects from the declines in energy prices in 2020 amid the pandemic.