European stocks opened in negative territory on Wednesday, as the positive momentum that had characterized the start of the week began to lose steam.
The cautious mood comes as investors digest a fresh UK inflation report and the news that a high-stakes US-Russia summit on the Ukraine war has been put on hold.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.11% shortly after the opening bell, with Germany’s DAX, France’s CAC 40, and Italy’s FTSE MIB all in the red. The UK’s FTSE index was the only major bright spot, climbing 0.6 percent.
UK inflation remains high at 3.8%
New figures released on Wednesday showed that UK inflation was unchanged at a stubbornly high 3.8% in September.
The reading defied the expectations of economists, who had been forecasting a marginal rise. The data will be a key consideration for the Bank of England as it weighs its next move on interest rates.
Adding to the market’s cautious mood are reports that a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine has now been put on hold.
The decision was reportedly made following a call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, NBC News reported.
The development comes after Trump has seesawed on his support for Kyiv, suggesting last week that Ukraine should be prepared to concede territory to Russia.
UniCredit posts a record quarter, eyes a Commerzbank takeover
In European corporate news, the Italian banking giant UniCredit has posted quarterly earnings that beat all expectations, with the company describing the three-month period as a “record quarter.”
Net profit came in at 2.6 billion euros, well above the 2.4 billion euros that analysts had been forecasting.
Speaking to CNBC, UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel also commented on the bank’s relationship with the German lender Commerzbank, in which it has built a 26 percent stake.
“I’ve not given up on Commerzbank,” he said.
We are observing, as an investor, how much more value they can create.
Orcel has previously pushed for a full takeover of the German bank, a move that has been met with resistance from both the bank and the government in Berlin.
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