Europe midday: Shares up ahead of US inflation data

(Sharecast News) - European shares were up at midday on Thursday as investors digested a raft of Christmas trading updates and awaited the latest US inflation figures later in the day. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.19% at 477.33 after strong performances in the US and Asia overnight.

"The buoyancy looks to be driven by renewed speculation that the US Federal Reserve will begin reducing interest rates, possibly at its next rates-setting meeting in March," said Steve Clayton, head of equity funds at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"Whether the Fed does indeed cut rates, keep them steady or even raise them still further depends on the outlook for US inflation. The latest US consumer price data, which according to Bloomberg's survey of economic forecasters, is widely expected to register further declines, falling down below 4% in December."

"As always, the devil will be in the detail, and traders will be looking to see how much of the change in the data is driven by core factors and how much relates to volatile items like energy."

In equity news, shares in UK retailer Marks & Spencer fell, despite a strong rise in Christmas sales driven by food.

Antofagasta rose as RBC Capital Markets upgraded its stance on the Chilean copper miner to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' and hiked the price target to 1,800p from 1,300p.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com