On Wednesday (November 1st), European markets rose as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision.
The Pan European Stoxx 600 Index closed up 2.91 points, or 0.67%, at 436.57 points;
The German DAX30 index closed up 111.70 points, or 0.75%, at 14922.04 points;
The FTSE 100 Index in the UK closed up 21.45 points, or 0.29%, at 7343.17 points;
The French CAC40 index closed up 44.78 points, or 0.65%, at 6930.43 points;
The European Stoxx 50 index closed up 29.73 points, or 0.73%, at 4090.85 points;
The IBEX35 index in Spain closed up 55.31 points, or 0.61%, at 9072.61 points;
The Italian FTSE MIB index closed up 240.09 points, or 0.87%, at 27982.00.
The Pan European Stoxx 600 Index closed 0.7% higher, breaking free from its worst monthly performance since September 2022 and continuing to maintain a positive momentum since the beginning of the week.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, it is widely expected that the Federal Reserve will maintain interest rate stability, and the pricing of federal fund futures indicates a probability of interest rates remaining at current levels exceeding 97%.
Preliminary data on Tuesday showed that the inflation rate in the eurozone fell to a two-year low of 2.9% in October, while economists surveyed by Reuters expect it to be 3.1%. At the same time, the statistical agency Eurostat stated that the eurozone economy shrank by 0.1% in the third quarter, lower than the stagnant forecast. These data were released after the European Central Bank suspended its record ten consecutive rate hikes during its meeting last week.
Stuart Cole, Chief Macroeconomist at Equiti Capital, said: "Considering the possibility of unexpected events, the market always feels a bit nervous before the FOMC meeting. The market is comforted by the decline in consumer price indices, which indicates that eurozone interest rates have peaked. Poor GDP data also indicates that the European Central Bank will be unwilling to further tighten policies
Retail stocks rose 1.7%, leading the sector's gains. The UK Stock Exchange raised its annual profit forecast for the fourth time in six months, and the stock price rose 3.6%.
Healthcare stocks also rose 1.1%, while heavyweight stocks Novo Nordisk rose 1.6% before announcing results on November 2nd.
Luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin's stock price plummeted 13% after announcing a quarterly loss that exceeded expectations and lowered its sales target.
Belgian pharmaceutical company Argenx rose 4.5%, continuing the previous day's gains.
Baile Garibal is the largest rising stock in the Pan European Stoxx 600 index, with its annual performance meeting expectations and updating its medium to long-term goals based on the new strategy, with its stock price rising 4.9%.
Meanwhile, Orsted fell 25.7%, ranking bottom in the Pan European Stoxx 600 index. The company suffered a loss in the third quarter that exceeded expectations after setting aside $4 billion in impairment charges and deciding to abandon two US wind power projects.
Swedish builder Skanska reported a much lower than expected operating profit for the third quarter, with its stock price falling 12.4%.
On Tuesday, data from the London Stock Exchange showed that 57.6% of the Pan European Stoxx 600 index, which has reported earnings so far, exceeded analysts' expectations.