Europe close: Stocks end higher after Italy clarifies bank tax

(Sharecast News) - Stocks across the Continent rose on Wednesday after authorities in Rome clarified the reach of the windfall tax on lenders' profits announced the day before. According to the country's finance ministry, the tax would be capped at 0.1% of a lender's assets.

Analysts at Berenberg said the levy was already priced into Italian banks' shares, although an extension of the tax past 2023, instead of it being an extraordinary levy as signalled by the government, was a risk.

"The proposed tax has a negative read-across to other Eurozone peers, which could be at risk of similar policies, thus increasing the sector's implied cost of equity," they added.

By the end of trading, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was up by 0.43% to 460.58, alongside a 1.31% rise for Italy's FTSE Mib to 28,308.09, while France's Cac-40 was ahead by 0.72% to 7,322.04.

But data released overnight showed that consumer prices in China fell by 0.3% year-on-year in July, for their first decline since February 2021.

The figures underscored the underwhelming prospects for the world's second-largest economy.

"This morning's headline CPI inflation in China followed the PPI measure into outright deflation for the first time in 28 months, increasing fears that for all the promises of further stimulus measures, Chinese authorities may be facing limitations in the type of stimulus they can implement when it comes to kick starting domestic demand," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Market UL.

"The outcome of this piecemeal approach [to economic stimulus] is likely to be a gradual improvement of business and household sentiment, leading to a drawn-out demand upturn, and year-over-year producer price declines extending into H1 2024, at a gradually moderating rate," chipped in Duncan Wrigley at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The economic calendar was sparse on Wedneday although investors were waiting on the results of an auction of 10-year German government debt.

Dutch lender ABN Amro's shares dipped 2% after posting a sequential decline in its second quarter net income.

German food delivery outfit Delivery Hero said its profitability improved over the three months to June and reported better-than-expected sales, propelling its shares 5% higher.

Continenal slipped 2% after cutting its outlook for full-year sales on weak demand for tires in Europe and North America.