Europe: Shares inch higher on strong commodity shares; geopolitics in focus

[BENGALURU] European stocks made cautious gains on Wednesday, pushed higher by commodity-heavy stocks with Russia-Ukraine tensions in focus, while Swedish telecom firm Ericsson slumped after investigations showed misconduct.

The continent-wide Stoxx 600 index ended 0.1 per cent higher with oil firms and miners leading gains, marginally adding to the 1.4 per cent jump on Tuesday when Moscow indicated it was returning some troops surrounding Ukraine.

However, concerns lingered after the United States and Nato said Russia was still building up troops around Ukraine and Kyiv appeared to blame Russia for a cyber attack.

Shares of Ericsson fell 14.2 per cent to be the top Stoxx 600 loser after the Swedish telecom gear maker disclosed results of an internal investigation that detailed suspect payments and misconduct in Iraq.

Riskier assets have been hammered in the past weeks, with volatility gauges jumping to January highs on fears that Russia will invade Ukraine, while surging oil prices added to inflation fears.

"A lot of it (risks) seems to be in the price, but we would not make an investment decision based on a geopolitical event,"said Frederique Carrier, head of investment strategy at RBC Wealth Management. "Historically acts of war tend to have relatively short-lived impact on markets except if it is an oil crisis which itself triggers a recession."

Meanwhile, UK's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 dropped between 0.1 per cent and 0.3 per cent.

UK's FTSE 100 slipped after data showed consumer prices rose at the fastest annual pace in nearly 30 years last month, boosting bets that the Bank of England will raise interest rates for a third consecutive time.

Wall Street indexes also were lower after strong retail sales data further strengthened the case for an aggressive Federal Reserve. Investors await minutes from the Fed's meeting, due at 2 pm ET.

Tobacco group Swedish Match gained 3.8 per cent after proposing a hike to its annual dividend, while French industrial gas company Air Liquide climbed 2.7 per cent on forecasting a bigger annual profit.

Swiss elevator maker Schindler fell 5.2 per cent after warning that its China business will contract in 2022 due to construction delays, material cost inflation and supply chain disruptions.

Overall, European earnings have been largely positive, with analysts forecasting a 58.6 per cent surge in fourth-quarter profit for companies on the Stoxx, as per Refinitiv IBES estimates, revised marginally higher from the 56.2 per cent forecast earlier this month.

Heineken gained 1.8 per cent after reporting stronger than expected earnings in 2021, but it cast doubt on its mid-term profit margin target due to the uncertain impact of spiralling inflation on beer consumption. REUTERS