(Reuters) – European stocks inched higher on Wednesday after their worst selloff this year as strong earnings reports and signs of a speedy economic recovery offset concerns about a rapid rise in prices.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.1% by 0713 GMT after falling by almost 2% on Tuesday as investors offloaded riskier assets on worries that rising U.S. inflation could lead to tighter monetary policy.
All eyes will be on U.S. consumer price data for April that is due later in the day. Numbers for Germany and France were largely in line with estimates.
European earnings are now expected to surge 90.2% in the first quarter, as per Refinitiv IBES data, up from a forecast of 83.1% growth last week.
German lender Commerzbank jumped 5.4% after it beat expectations for first-quarter profit and raised its revenue outlook.
Spirits maker Diageo rose 2.8% on restarting its capital return program, while Amsterdam-based technology investor Prosus NV gained 3% after plans to acquire up to 45.4% of shares in its parent Naspers.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
