FX.co ★ European Shares Edge Higher Ahead Of Easter Break

Ahead of the long Easter holiday weekend, European stocks were witnessing moderate increases on Thursday. Major European markets will be closed for two days on Friday and Monday in observance of Easter.

Contrary to expectations, retail sales in Germany saw a surprising dip in February. According to data released by Destatis, retail sales in the country fell by 1.9 percent compared to the previous month, defying forecasts for a 0.3 percent rise. Annually, retail sales decreased by 2.7 percent, a more significant decline than the predicted 0.8 percent.

Following dovish statements from the Governor of the Bank of England (BoE), Andrew Bailey, on the prospects of rate cuts, the British pound experienced a slight drop compared to other currencies. Meanwhile, data showed that the U.K. economy shrank in the last quarter of 2023 as initially stated.

The U.K. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remained on a consistent 0.3 percent decline following a 0.1 percent drop in the quarter prior, as confirmed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Thus, the ONS verified a technical recession towards the end of 2023. Consequently, the economy only expanded by 0.1 percent in the same year, a significant slump compared to the 4.3 percent growth in 2022.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index showed a 0.3 percent increase, standing at 513.03 after a minor 0.1 percent rise recorded on Wednesday. Germany’s DAX was up by 0.2 percent, France’s CAC 40 increased by 0.4 percent, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 advanced by 0.3 percent.

In anticipation of key U.S. inflation data and a speech by Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve's Chair, on Friday, the euro was heading towards parity with the dollar.

In company news, shares of JD Sports Fashion rose by 6 percent. The British retailer of sports, fashion, and outdoor brands stated that it expects its full-year profit before tax and adjusted figures to align with its projection of between 915 million and 935 million pounds.

Shares of Renault rose by 1.1 percent in Paris after the company sold 99.13 million of its shares back to Nissan, approximately 2.5 percent of Nissan's capital totaling 358 million euros, following a share buyback program announced by Nissan on March 27.

On the other hand, Casino shares drastically dropped by 64 percent as the retailer declared the successful finalization of its financial restructuring. Spirent Communications saw a significant 11 percent surge after agreeing to an offer from Keysight Technologies which values the company at 1.16 million pounds or $1.46 billion.

German company Stratec SE, which manufactures analyzer and automation systems for In-Vitro-Diagnostics, saw its shares fall by 10 percent after recording a decrease in net profit for the full year owing to lower sales and higher expenses. Finally, shares of Kontron, an IoT technology company, dipped by 4.4 percent following the announcement of its full-year results for the fiscal year 2023.