stocks, news, UK inflation data

Mining shares sank on Wednesday afternoon after Anglo American rejected a third takeover proposal from rival BHP Group as the companies agreed to extend the deadline for negotiations by a week.

Anglo shares initially rose before paring gains to trade up 0.65% by 16:10 London time. BHP fell 3.4%, while rival miners Antofagasta and Glencore fell more than 3.5%

—Karen Gilchrist

Auto stocks led European markets lower on Wednesday, with the sector last down 1.97% at 10:27am London time.

Concerns about the tariffs grew after China’s Global Times newspaper quoted an expert from the government’s auto research body as saying the world’s second-largest economy should temporarily raise import duties on gasoline-powered cars with large engines.

Tariffs could go up to 25%, which would be the highest possible level under World Trade Organization rules, he said.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Traders cut back on bets that the Bank of England will start cutting interest rates this summer, after UK inflation data came in higher than expected.

Although the headline rate fell sharply to 2.3% from 3.2%, that was below the 2.1% forecast in a Reuters poll. Both core inflation and services inflation, which the BOE closely monitors, were also higher than forecast.

At 8:40 a.m. in London, overnight interest rate swaps showed a 13% probability of a rate cut at the June meeting, down from about 50% before going to press. The probability of a reduction in August fell from 70% to 40%, with the reduction in the bank rate being fully factored in only in November.

The British pound jumped on the news, trading 0.3% higher against the US dollar at $1.274, and 0.27% higher against the euro at 1.174. Both were sterling’s highest level against currencies since March, according to LSEG data.

— Jenny Reid

European markets opened lower on Wednesday, with all major bourses starting the day in the red, following the release of new UK inflation data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was last down 0.34% at 8:10am London time.

The British FTSE 100 fell by 0.52 percent, the German DAX by 0.4 percent, and the French CAC 40 by 0.43 percent.

Cars fell 2.3%, and oil and gas stocks fell 0.74%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

UK inflation fell to 2.3% in April, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday, coming close to the Bank of England’s target rate, although missing expectations.

The headline reading fell from 3.2% in March, but economists polled by Reuters had expected a steeper decline to 2.1%.

Core inflation, excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, fell to 3.9% in April from 4.2% in March.

Read the whole story here.

— Jenny Reid

Six global AI-related stocks consistently reacted positively to Nvidia’s quarterly results, according to CNBC Pro research.

The analysis comes ahead of Nvidia’s earnings for the first quarter of this year, which will be announced on Wednesday after the stock market closes.

Five six stocks rose between 6% and 33% in the past after Nvidia revealed big earnings.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the six stocks here.

— Ganesh Rao

Andrew Slimmon of Morgan Stanley Investment Management is consistently bullish on stocks – even during periods of volatility.

While he fears that changing market conditions could cause “some sort of equity correction”, the senior portfolio manager believes it’s “clean” for the stock for now.

“I think it will make sense to get a bit more defensive in the summer, but it’s too early for that,” he said. “Stick to a balance between name growth and value.”

He names four stocks to buy.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets are expected to open late Tuesday.

Britain’s FTSE 100 is expected to open 43 points lower at 8381, Germany’s DAX 60 points at 18708, France’s CAC 33 points lower at 8139 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 140 points at 34788, according to IG data.

Earnings come from Kingfisher, Smiths Group, Fresnillo and Generali. Data on the eurozone trade balance and construction for March are to be released.

—Holly Elliott