Investing.com - European stock markets are expected to open a little higher Wednesday, as U.K. inflation falls more quickly than expected in June, while traders await more earnings from major U.S. companies.
At 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT), the DAX futures contract in Germany traded 0.1% higher, CAC 40 futures in France climbed 0.4% and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. rose 0.4%.
U.K. June CPI in spotlight
The early focus in Europe Wednesday is on the latest inflation numbers out of the U.K., with data just released putting Britain's annual CPI at 7.9% in June, a fall from 8.7% the prior month and below the expected drop to 8.1%.
While the drop in the headline figure will be welcomed by the policymakers at the Bank of England, the core number only fell to 6.9% from 7.1%, indicating that the underlying inflationary pressures remain strong.
Markets have already priced another 100 basis points of Bank of England rate rises this year, which will weigh further on economic activity with the country’s gross domestic product already falling 0.1% on the month in May.
Final eurozone CPI also due
The final reading of the June euro zone CPI is also due later in the session, and is expected to confirm that inflation rose 5.5% on the year last month, a drop from 6.1% the prior month.
The European Central Bank is widely expected to increase interest rates once more when it meets next week, but debate still exists about how far the central bank goes with its tightening after this.
"For July it is a necessity,” governing council member Klaas Knot, a known hawk, said in an interview on Tuesday, regarding interest rate increases, “for anything beyond July it would at most be a possibility, but by no means a certainty."
Renault first-half sales jump
In the corporate sector, Renault (EPA:RENA) is likely to be in focus after the French auto giant said its worldwide sales rose 13% in the first six months of the year, with a 24% increase in Europe, rebounding after four consecutive years of declines.
However, most attention will be on the quarterly earnings releases across the pond, with numbers scheduled from the likes of streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), EV manufacturer Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and banking behemoth Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).
Crude stable despite falling U.S. inventories
Oil prices stabilized Wednesday after the previous session’s strong gains, with traders balancing declining U.S. inventories and concerns over China’s stuttering growth.
Data from the industry body American Petroleum Institute, released Tuesday, showed that U.S. crude stockpiles fell 0.8 million barrels last week, after a substantially bigger-than-expected build in the prior week.
Government data from the Energy Information Administration are due later in the session, for confirmation.
However, China’s economy, the second largest in the world, barely grew in the second quarter, and worries about the associated oil demand growth continue to weigh as traders look for more stimulus from Beijing.
By 02:00 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.1% lower at $75.61 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.1% to $79.67.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,982.25/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.1223.