Europe’s Markets End the Day Neutral as Investors Anticipate Inflation Data From the United States Ocado Falls 13%

By Ethan Cross Last updated Feb 16, 2022

LONDON, UK — European markets ended the day-neutral on Tuesday, with global investors keeping an eye on profits and looking ahead to significant U.S. inflation data anticipated later this week.

The Stoxx 600 index in Europe provisionally closed a hair over flat, with tech companies down 0.9 percent and basic resources up 2.2 percent.

Orpea, a French care home company, rose nearly 9% to near the top of the Stoxx 600 after buyers snapped up shares on the cheap after a series of sell-offs in the wake of claims of malpractice in care homes.

Ocado shares fell nearly 13% after the British online supermarket underperformed in its results announcement before the bell, with core earnings knocked down by large spending on new retail technology.

In other earnings news, BP announced a significant increase in full-year net profit, the greatest in eight years, thanks to rising commodity prices. BP’s stock, however, fell by more than 2%.

The US Labor Department is due to disclose January’s consumer price index results on Thursday, which will be closely watched by global investors.

The data will be released following a better-than-expected January jobs report, which has fueled speculation that the US economy is improving. When it comes to raising interest rates, the Federal Reserve could be more proactive. Inflation data is likely to show a 0.4 percent increase in January, bringing the year-over-year increase to 7.2 percent.

The Federal Reserve could raise rates by seven quarter-points this year, according to Bank of America.

Stocks gained on Wall Street on Tuesday as investors absorbed a new batch of company earnings and awaited the release of inflation data.

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