European stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022, as investors took heart from signs the U.S. Federal Reserve could slow its interest rate hikes, although concerns about China’s economy continued to weigh on Asian markets.European Stocks Today Asian equities struggled to gain on uncertainty over whether Xi Jinping’s new leadership team will prioritize economic growth. China’s onshore yuan finished the domestic session with its weakest close since late 2007. European stock indexes opened higher, with the STOXX 600 up 0.4% by 0809 GMT. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, rose 0.1% on the day and the MSCI Europe Core Index hit a five-week high, up 0.8% on the day.



“The immediate cause seems to be the expectation that the pace of central bank tightening may start to slow later this year and that has given some investors relief,” said Hani Redha, portfolio manager at Pinebridge Investments. U.S. business activity contracted for a fourth straight month, data on Monday showed, as Fed rate hikes softened the economy, which in turn raised expectations that the central bank could start to slow the pace of hikes. The expected peak for the Fed funds rate has edged down to around 4.93%, from above 5% early last week.European Stocks Today Economists polled by Reuters said the central bank should not let up until inflation falls to about half its current level. Some better-than-expected earnings results also supported sentiment in European stocks, with Swiss bank UBS among those beating market expectations. But Europe’s largest bank, HSBC, reported a 42% drop in third-quarter profit, sending its shares down 4%. Big tech companies Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) report earnings later in the session. European Stocks Today Pinebridge’s Redha said earnings estimates have been edging lower in recent months but the move has been “fairly modest.” “Potential relief that investors are feeling towards the end of the hiking cycle, which seems to be dominating over lower earnings estimates.” The U.S. dollar index was slightly higher on the day, up 0.1% at 112.01. The euro slipped, down 0.1% at $0.98675. The European Central Bank meets on Thursday and is set to raise interest rates by 75 basis points. The British pound was up 0.2% at $1.1309. It recovered from session lows and gold yields fell sharply on Monday in a sign of investor relief when it was announced that former finance minister Rishi Sunak would be the next prime minister. European Stocks Today Euro zone government bond yields fell, with Germany’s benchmark 10-year yield down 7 basis points to 2.272%. German business morale fell slightly in October but the data still beat analysts' estimates. Oil prices rose, although gains were capped by concerns about slowing growth in the United States and China. You can keep up to date with these European stocks by reading the news through the GIC Journal. You can also find out today's forex calendar through GIC's Instagram. In addition to getting updates on today's forex calendar, you can also get a morning brief. Don't forget to follow GIC's Instagram and register to be able to trade starting from 150,000 Rupiah!