FTSE 100 up 0.71%; DAX up 0.55%; CAC 40 up 1,31% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milan, 17 Apr - European shares inched up and were higher at mid-session after suffering yesterday their worst day in nine months.

The Stoxx 600 index was up 0.63%.

Caution prevailed in early trade as concerns over higher-for-longer US interest rates continued to keep sentiment in check after hawkish comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

Powell yesterday warned that the US central bank may need to keep rates higher for longer than previously thought as recent data pointing to sticky inflation has not given policymakers enough confidence to ease policy soon.

US Treasury yields climbed to new five-month highs.

Helping support sentiment today, US stock futures pointed to a higher open after the S&P 500 fell yesterday for a third straight session.

Back in Europe, in March 2024, the annual inflation rate in the eurozone fell to 2.4%, down from 2.6% the previous month and in line with preliminary data, according to figures from the European Union statistical office Eurostat. For the EU as a whole, the annual inflation rate fell to 2.6% from 2.8% in February.

Compared to the month earlier, consumer prices in the eurozone rose by 0.7% in March 2024 while they were up 0.8% in the EU.

UK inflation eased to 3.2% in March, the Office for National Statistics said, slightly higher than the 3.1% forecast from economists polled by Reuters, but down from 3.4% in February.

The core figure, excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, came in at 4.2%, also slightly higher than the 4.1% expected.

At 1135 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.71% at 7,875 points, while the Frankfurt DAX was up 0.55% at 17,864 points. The Paris CAC 40 was up 1.31% at 8,036 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB was up 1.11% at 33,766 points and in Madrid the IBEX 35 was up 1.35% at 10,668 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 17-04-24 13:53:56 (0408) 5 NNNN