Europe close: Stocks end on mixed note after CPI data

(Sharecast News) - European shares finished on a mixed note as investors digested the latest euro area consumer price figures and debated how many additional interest rates hikes remained in the pipeline. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 was up 0.26% to 461.97 with all major bourses in the green. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 1.6% as the British pound fell against the US dollar and the euro, while government bond yields fell sharply.

Eurostat confirmed that the annual rate of increase in the headline Consumer Price Index slipped from 6.1% for May to 5.5% in June, matching the preliminary estimate.

Core CPI on the other edged up from 5.3% to 5.4%, also as expected.

According to economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics, the odds of a 25 basis point rate hike at the European Central Bank's policy meeting in September was still 50/50 despite recent dovish remarks from some top ECB officials.

UK housebuilders and property-related stocks dominated the leaders board on hopes of lower borrowing costs for consumers seeking mortgages.

Persimmon, Barratt Developments, British Land, Bellway, Derwent London and Vistry Group were all among the gainers.

Shares in Aston Martin were also trading sharply higher after Goldman Sachs upgraded the luxury car maker stock to 'buy' from 'neutral' and almost doubled its price target to 413p from 212p.