European stocks steady after inflation, unemployment data; Ericsson shines

Investing.com – European stock markets traded in a steady manner Tuesday, as investors digested regional employment and inflation data, helped by the backdrop of solid gains on Wall Street. 

At 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), the in Germany traded 0.4% higher, while the in France fell 0.1% and the in the UK traded largely unchanged.

ECB meeting in focus

European equities are firmly focused on the European Central Bank’s latest later this week, with investors looking for a further easing of monetary policy to help the struggling regional economy.

Eurozone business activity unexpectedly contracted in September, while inflation appears to no longer be an issue, leading to expectations that the ECB will cut interest rates once more on Thursday.

fell by 1.6% in September compared with the same month last year, data released earlier Tuesday showed, while fell to just 1.1% annually and the dropped to 1.5%, both well below the ECB’s 2% target. 

In the UK, the August unexpectedly fell to 4%, from 4.1%, but falls in average earnings data opened the path for a further cut in interest rates when the next meets in November.

Strong close on Wall Street

The European stock markets were handed a boost by the healthy close on Wall Street overnight, with the and the hitting new peaks amid the return of excitement around tech, artificial intelligence and corporate earnings.

More bank earnings are due on Tuesday, including from Bank of America (NYSE:), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) and Citigroup (NYSE:), while a lot of attention will be on AI darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:).

Nvidia stock gained over 2% on Monday to its highest close, lifting its market value to $3.39 trillion – just below Apple’s (NASDAQ:) $3.52 trillion and close to being the world’s most valuable company.

Ericsson (BS:) sees signs of improvement

In the corporate sector, Ericsson (ST:) stock rose over 8% after the Swedish telecom equipment market noted signs of improvement after reporting core earnings and sales above expectations, helped by a rebound in demand for 5G gear in North America.

French luxury group LVMH (EPA:) reports third-quarter revenue later Tuesday, with the sector in the spotlight having benefited strongly since Beijing started unveiling stimulus, given the importance of the Chinese market.

Crude slumps on Chinese demand concerns 

Oil prices fell sharply Tuesday, adding to recent losses on growing concerns over a slowdown in demand growth, particularly from top exporter China. 

By 03:05 ET, the contract dropped 3.6% to $74.64 per barrel, while futures (WTI) traded 3.8% lower at $71.00 per barrel.

Both benchmarks had settled about 2% lower on Monday, and have continued to retreat after China logged a fifth straight monthly decline in oil imports, spurring fears of weak demand. 

These fears were exacerbated by the cutting its oil demand outlook for a third consecutive month.

Oil prices were also dented by traders pricing out a risk premium after a report on Monday said that Israel will not attack Iran’s oil and nuclear facilities. 

Such a strike would have marked a major escalation in the conflict, and had traders concerned about a disruption to supply from this oil-rich region.