Europe midday: Stocks rebound strongly

(Sharecast News) - European stocks were rising strongly on Tuesday, following a decent performance on Wall Street overnight, after two Federal Reserve policymakers made dovish remarks about interest rates. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 1.59% at 450.85, with markets across Frankfurt, Paris, Milan and Madrid all rising by around 1.7%. London's FTSE 100 was up 1.56%.

German 10-year Bund yields were a tad lower, alongside a dip in crude oil futures, but the euro was again trading on the front foot around the 1.06 mark versus the U.S. dollar.

Israel meanwhile was continuing with airstrikes targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as the war stretched into its fourth day.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Even with the evolving situation in the Middle East, investors remained focused on the Fed's current thinking on interest rates and the need to contain inflation."

"Comments from Fed officials provided a timely boost," Hunter said, adding that elevated bond yields "would lessen the need for additional monetary tightening, which was the news investors had been waiting for.

Markets had adjusted the likelihood of a no-change decision at the November meeting up to almost 90% as a result, as did the December consensus which also rose to over 70%."

In terms of economic data on Tuesday, things were looking a little light.

Italian industrial production however was reported at up by 0.2% month-on-month in August (consensus: 0.0%).

A speech from European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde was scheduled for 1300 BST.

In stock movements, oil and gas groups were pulling back slightly, tracking crude prices lower after a strong performance the previous session, with Shell, BP and TotalEnergies all in the red.

Food delivery stocks were performing especially well, with ams-Osram, Just Eat, Ocado and Delivery Hero rising strongly.