The Stoxx 600 index opened the day flat before showing a slight increase of 0.2% by 8:20 a.m. in London. However, the sectors remained a mixed bag, with health-care stocks showing a 1.04% increase, while technology and mining both experienced a drop of around 0.6%. The FTSE 100 was up by 0.25%, while France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.1% and Germany’s DAX was flat. Following the opening of the Stock 600, European stocks started off mixed but turned higher as the session progressed.
The rise in Turkish inflation to 64.8% on an annual basis in December marked an acceleration from the 62% reported in November. Although this increase was slightly below the 65.1% expected by economists polled by Reuters, it still led to some concern. The month-on-month inflation cooled to 2.9%, however, from 3.3%. Price rises in Turkey had hit a peak of 85.5% in October 2022, amidst a sharp decline in the lira. In response, the Turkish central bank switched to an unorthodox monetary policy of low interest rates, but has since changed course under its new Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan.
As European markets opened, they appeared set to open in negative territory before turning higher. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index was expected to open 16 points lower at 7,717, while Germany’s DAX was forecast to open down 50 points at 16,719, and France’s CAC down 16 points at 7,514. German unemployment data for the month of December was also set to be released on this day.
