stocks, news, UK inflation data

Mining stocks sunk Wednesday afternoon after Anglo American rejected a third takeover proposal from rival BHP Group as the companies agreed to extend a talks deadline by one week.

Anglo shares rose initially before paring gains to trade down 0.65% by 4:10 p.m. London time. BHP fell 3.4% while rival miners Antofagasta and Glencore both fell more than 3.5%

— Karen Gilchrist

Auto stocks led European markets lower on Wednesday, with the sector last down 1.97% at 10:27 a.m. London time.

Concerns over tariffs grew after China’s Global Times newspaper cited an expert from a government-affiliated auto research body who said the world’s second-largest economy should temporarily raise import tariffs on gasoline-powered cars with large engines.

Tariffs could go as high as 25%, which would be the highest level possible under World Trade Organisation rules, he said.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Traders slashed bets that the Bank of England will start to bring interest rates lower this summer, after U.K. inflation figures came in hotter than expected.

While the headline rate fell sharply to 2.3% from 3.2%, this was below a forecast in a Reuters poll of 2.1%. Both core inflation and services inflation, which are being closely-watched by the BOE, were also higher than forecast.

At 8:40 a.m. in London, overnight interest rate swaps showed a 13% probability of a rate cut at the June meeting, down from around 50% before the print. The probability of an August cut had fallen from 70% to 40%, with a reduction in the Bank Rate not fully priced in until November.

The British pound jumped on the news, trading 0.3% higher against the U.S. dollar at $1.274, and 0.27% higher against the euro at 1.174. Both were sterling’s highest levels against the currencies since March, according to LSEG data.

— Jenni Reid

European markets opened lower on Wednesday, with all major bourses starting the day in the red, following the release of fresh U.K. inflation data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was last down 0.34% at 8:10 a.m. London time..

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was meanwhile 0.52% lower, with Germany’s DAX down 0.4% and France’s CAC 40 shedding 0.43%.

Autos dropped 2.3%, and oil and gas stocks lost 0.74%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

U.K. inflation fell to 2.3% in April, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday, coming closer to the Bank of England’s target rate even while missing expectations.

The headline reading declined from 3.2% in March, but economists polled by Reuters had expected a steeper drop to 2.1%.

Core inflation, excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, dipped to 3.9% in April from 4.2% in March.

Read the full story here.

— Jenni Reid

Six artificial intelligence-related stocks worldwide have consistently reacted positively to Nvidia’s quarterly results, according to CNBC Pro research.

The analysis comes ahead of Nvidia’s first-quarter earnings this year, which will be released Wednesday after the stock markets close.

Five six stocks have each risen between 6% and 33% in the past after Nvidia revealed bumper earnings.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the six stocks here.

— Ganesh Rao

Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Andrew Slimmon has been consistently bullish on stocks — even during periods of volatility.

While he fears that a change in market conditions could cause “some sort of equity correction,” the senior portfolio manager believes it’s “clear sailing” for stocks for now.

“I think it will make sense to get a little more defensive going into the summer but it’s too early for that,” he said. “Stick with a balance of growth and value names.”

He names four stocks to buy.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets are expected to open lower Tuesday.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 43 points lower at 8,381, Germany’s DAX down 60 points at 18,708, France’s CAC 33 points lower at 8,139 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 140 points at 34,788, according to data from IG.

Earnings come from Kingfisher, Smiths Group, Fresnillo and Generali. Euro zone trade balance and construction data for March are due.

— Holly Ellyatt