Investing.com – European stock markets fell sharply on Wednesday, with investors cautious as they weighed the region’s economic outlook.
At 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT), it was down 0.1% in Germany and 0.2% in France, while it was up 0.1% in the UK.
Europe’s main indexes posted healthy gains on Tuesday as investors in the region digested the latest eurozone inflation data, which came in as expected, dispelling concerns that higher consumer prices will limit this year’s interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank.
German industrial orders fell
The need for the ECB to ease monetary policy significantly in 2025 was illustrated by economic data released earlier on Wednesday.
it fell 5.4% in November, weakened by a drop in large orders, indicating that a recovery in the industrial sector is not in sight.
Additionally, it fell 0.6%, dashing hopes of a boost from pre-Christmas sales like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
There is more eurozone inflation data to review later on Wednesday, in the form of November figures as well as December releases.
Shell lowers gas production outlook for fourth quarter
In corporate news, Shell ( LON: ) shares fell 1% after the energy giant, the world’s largest liquefied gas trader, cut its outlook for fourth-quarter LNG production and said trading results from its chemicals division were expected to and oil products to be significantly lower than in the third quarter.
Roche ( SIX: ) will also be in the spotlight on Wednesday after the Swiss healthcare giant said it plans to complete its purchase of US biopharmaceutical company Poseida Therapeutics, in a deal valued at around $1.5 billion.
The acquisition, announced in November, is Roche’s latest move to boost its development program to offset declining oncology sales.
Shares of Flutter Entertainment ( LON: ) fell more than 3% after the gaming company lowered its 2024 US revenue and profit forecasts, citing an unprecedented run of favorable results for NFL bettors.
Crude oil rose due to lower US inventories
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, extending their gains from the previous session, as data from the US industry pointed to a decline in oil inventories, while production in OPEC countries fell.
By 03:05 ET, U.S. crude futures (WTI) were up 0.7% at $74.80 a barrel, while the contract was up 0.6% at $77.53 a barrel.
Both contracts were near their highest levels since mid-October.
Data released Tuesday showed U.S. crude inventories fell by more than 4 million barrels in the week to Jan. 3, well above expectations for a 250,000-barrel drop.
The reading marked a second straight week of inventory draws, if confirmed later in the session, as the world’s biggest fuel consumer saw increased travel during the year-end holiday season.
In addition, Reuters data showed that oil production in Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries countries fell in December, with maintenance activities in the United Arab Emirates offsetting an increase in production in Nigeria.
