European Stocks Move Mostly Higher Amid Rally In France

(RTTNews) - European stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday, with French markets outperforming their regional peers after LVMH, the owner of Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, unexpectedly returned to sales growth in the third quarter.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index climbed by 0.6 percent to 567.77 after falling by 0.4 percent in the previous session.

The French CAC 40 Index surged by 2.0 percent, although the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.3 percent.

LVMH helped lead the French markets higher, soaring by 12.2 percent after reporting better-than-expected sales in the third quarter, supported by an improvement in Chinese demand. Peers such as L'Oreal, Hermes and Richemont also posted strong gains.

Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holding also jumped by 3.1 percent after its orders beat analyst expectations in the third quarter.

Denmark-based Asetek also skyrocketed after it announced a long-term agreement with an undisclosed PC gaming brand for the delivery of high-end liquid cooling products based on its Ingrid technology platform.

British recruiter PageGroup also shot up by 3.4 percent as it reported a resilient third-quarter performance despite market uncertainty.

British Land also jumped by 2.4 percent. The property developers upgraded its forecasts for full year earnings per share growth after reporting growth in half-year profit and in portfolio and rental values.

On the other hand, Aurubis plunged by 6.5 percent after key shareholder Salzgitter sold 500 million euros ($582 million) worth of bonds that can be exchanged for 7.6% of the German copper producer's stock.

In economic news, French consumer price inflation accelerated as initially estimated in September to the highest level in eight months, the latest data from the statistical office INSEE showed.

The consumer price index climbed 1.2 percent year-over-year in September, faster than the 1.0 percent rise in the previous month. That was in line with the flash data published on September 30. Further, this was the highest inflation rate since January, when prices rose 1.7 percent.

Meanwhile, Eurostat said Eurozone industrial production logged a monthly decrease in August, reflecting the uncertainty surrounding the global trade environment.

Industrial output dropped 1.2 percent month-on-month in contrast to the 0.5 percent increase in July. However, the decline was less severe than the forecast of 1.6 percent.