European Shares See Cautious Gains

European stocks traded higher on Wednesday, though the upside remained capped after an ECB policymaker said that a possible June rate cut might not be followed by more.

Joachim Nagel, president of Germany's Bundesbank, said in a speech at the DZ Bank Capital Markets Conference 2024 that a June interest rate cut from the European Central Bank might not necessarily be followed by a series of rate cuts.

Meanwhile, investor sentiment was underpinned after survey data from the ifo Institute showed business sentiment in the country improved in April.

The business confidence index climbed to 89.4 in April while economists had forecast the score to rise moderately to 88.9 from March's initially estimated value of 87.8.

The pan European STOXX 600 edged up 0.1 percent to 508.30 after rallying 1.1 percent on Tuesday.

The German DAX gained 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 edged up 0.2 percent and the U.K. FTSE 100 was up half a percent, surging to a fresh record high.

Water processing equipment supplier ASM International jumped 10 percent. The company raised its Q2 revenue forecast after beating analyst estimates for revenue and earnings in the first quarter.

Swedish automaker Volvo Cars lost 8 percent as Q1 revenue came in below expectations.
Lender Handelsbanken plummeted more than 10 percent after first-quarter earnings missed analyst estimates.

Drugmaker Roche declined 2.6 percent on reporting a 6 percent fall in first-quarter sales.

German biotech Evotec SE slumped 32 percent after reporting its full-year results and naming a new chief executive.

French luxury group Kering plunged 8 percent after a profit warning and amid concerns about declining demand for its Gucci brand.

Air Liquide dropped 1.5 percent on reporting a fall in sales for the first quarter.

Casino Guichard-Perrachon surged 3 percent. The company said it is embarking on a transformation plan aimed at aligning its organization with the Group's new scope.

Sound Energy fell 2.6 percent in London after the upstream gas company slipped to a loss in FY23 as expressed concern about continuing as a going concern.

Engineering group Filtronic soared 48 percent after announcing a strategic partnership and commercial agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Fresnillo was down about 1 percent after reporting a drop in Q1 gold and silver output.

Reckitt Benckiser jumped 5.4 percent as it reported Q1 like-for-like net revenue growth of 1.5 percent.

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