Europe: Stocks rebound at open

[LONDON] European stock markets rebounded at the open on Wednesday, as investors look ahead to minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting for clues on future interest rate hikes.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index gained 0.5 per cent to 7,138.83 points.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index climbed 0.7 per cent to 15,611.59 points and the Paris CAC 40 was up 0.4 per cent to 6,531.11.

Traders are looking to see if strong inflation caused by the reopening of economies will push the Fed and other central banks to tighten borrowing costs sooner than expected, which in turn could slow the recovery.

"Investors should keep in mind that the Fed's latest meeting minutes are set to be released today," noted Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade.

The minutes might "provide hints of potential changes in the monetary policy in the short term. Having said that, the minutes are expected to stay dovish as inflation remains under control and the (US) labour market grows at a sustainable pace," he added.

AFP