Shoppers pass along the main high street in Whitstable, UK.
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LONDON — European stocks are expected to open mixed on Wednesday, losing the positive momentum seen in the previous trading session.
The U.K.’s FTSE index is seen 5 points higher at 8,188, Germany’s DAX up 19 points at 18,143, France’s CAC 40 4 points higher at 7,621 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 7 points higher at 33,314, according to IG data.
U.K. inflation data for May was in line with expectations at 2.0%, hitting the Bank of England’s target ahead of its policy rate decision on Thursday. The Bank is widely expected to hold rates steady at 5.25%, with the majority of economists polled by Reuters forecasting a cut in August.
Data from the euro zone on Tuesday showed inflation in the single-currency euro area rose at an annual rate of 2.6% in May, up from 2.4% in April, the EU’s statistical office Eurostat confirmed in a final reading. Annual inflation within the wider EU was 2.7%, up from 2.6% the previous month.
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose overnight after key U.S. benchmark indexes hit fresh highs on Tuesday as artificial intelligence chip firm Nvidia overtook Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable public company.
U.S. financial markets are closed for the Juneteenth holiday.