European stocks are mostly up; inflation in the euro area in the spotlight De Investing.com

Investing.com – European stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday, starting the new quarter on a positive note ahead of the release of key regional inflation data.

At 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), Germany was trading 0.4 percent higher and Britain was up 0.1 percent, while France was down 0.1 %.

Euro zone inflation in focus

European stock markets have broadly started the new month and quarter with gains as investors look to the release of data later in the session amid hopes of more interest rate cuts by the time the year draws to a close .

Data released on Monday showed that they fell slightly more than estimates to 1.8% in September, slightly below the forecast of 1.9%, and followed a 2.0% annual consumer price increase in August.

Inflation is also easing in France, Italy and Spain, suggesting the risk to the euro zone of 1.8% annual growth in September is receding, even if it would still be below the ECB’s 2.0% long-term target medium.

Markets are already fully pricing in an October rate cut after President Christine Lagarde said on Monday that the trend would be considered at the next policy meeting on October 17.

Pay statements due Friday

The major indexes closed with minor gains on Wall Street overnight after the Federal Reserve chairman signaled that the Fed would continue to cut interest rates but stressed that the future path of rates is not on a predetermined course and monetary policy will meet with meet.

The widely watched monthly is due on Friday and the US economy is expected to have added 144,000 jobs last month.

Weaker-than-expected data could reignite fears about the prospect of a recession, while unexpectedly strong job growth could fuel fears the Fed will not cut rates as deeply as expected.

Pfizer reduce participation in Haleon

In the corporate sector, shares of Haleon ( LON: ) fell 0.9% after drug giant Pfizer ( NYSE: ) offloaded about $3.26 billion worth of shares in the largest stand-alone healthcare firm for consumers around the world.

Greggs (LON: ) shares fell 1.2 percent after the British baker kept its full-year guidance on Tuesday, even as underlying sales growth slowed in its latest quarter.

Crude stable despite Middle East tensions

Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as concerns over tepid demand growth offset concerns that rising tensions in the Middle East could hurt global supply.

By 03:05 ET, the contract was down 0.2% at $71.57 a barrel, while WTI futures traded 0.2% lower at $68.05 a barrel. barrel.

Israel said early Tuesday that its troops had begun “limited” raids against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon’s border area, a move that risks escalating a conflict in the oil-rich Middle East that threatens to embarrass the US and Iran.

Brent ended September down 9%, its third month of declines and its biggest monthly decline since November 2022. It also fell 17% in the third quarter for its biggest quarterly loss in a year. WTI fell 7% last month and is down 16% for the quarter.