In recent trading, European stock markets displayed mostly positive performances on Tuesday, with the Stoxx Europe 600 achieving a rise of 0.45%. Similarly, the Swiss Market Index demonstrated a 0.55% increase, while France's CAC saw a gain of 0.42%. Conversely, Germany's DAX reported an uptick of 0.49%, whereas the FTSE in London experienced a slight decline of 0.22%.
Preliminary data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, revealed seasonally adjusted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 0.3% for both the euro area and the European Union in the second quarter, compared to the prior quarter. Additionally, these figures marked increases of 0.6% and 0.7% respectively when compared with the same quarter in the previous year.
Among the EU countries, Ireland showcased the highest quarterly GDP growth at 1.2%, followed closely by Lithuania at 0.9%, and Spain at 0.8%. In contrast, the most significant declines in GDP were noted in Latvia at -1.1%, Sweden at -0.8%, and Hungary at -0.2%. Notably, annual growth rates recorded were positive for eight countries while three experienced negative growth.
Analyzing specific country performances, Germany reported a 0.1% decline in GDP for Q2 relative to the previous quarter, after adjustments for price, seasonal fluctuations, and calendar effects, as per the report from the German Federal Statistical Office. Despite this quarterly dip, the annual GDP comparison reflected a year-on-year rise of 0.3%.
Furthermore, it was reported that Germany’s inflation rate rose to an estimated 2.3% in July compared to a year earlier. This marked an increase of 0.3% from the preceding month, indicating persistent inflationary pressures. In France, real GDP experienced a rise of 0.3% in Q2, consistent with the growth observed in the previous quarter, as confirmed by the Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies.
Meanwhile, Italy reported a modest GDP increase of 0.2% from the previous quarter according to data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics. Amidst these economic developments, corporate news took center stage as Alphabet's collaboration with artificial intelligence firm Anthropic caught the attention of the UK antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority.
The regulator expressed its intent to investigate whether this partnership could result in "a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services." Alphabet has yet to respond to the inquiries made by MT Newswires regarding this matter. UK oil and gas giant BP announced its Q2 underlying earnings came in at $1 per American depositary share, a rise from $0.89 reported a year prior.
Revenue for BP in the quarter ending June 30 totalled $47.3 billion, a slight decrease from $48.54 billion in the same period a year earlier. In notable corporate movements, shares of Standard Chartered surged nearly 6% in London following the financial services company’s announcement of better-than-expected Q2 earnings alongside an upward revision of its 2024 income guidance.
The firm also revealed its largest ever share repurchase program, valued at $1.5 billion. Spanish pharmaceutical company Grifols has made adjustments to its financial records for the years 2020 to 2023, reporting a downward revision by 457 million euros ($494 million) to reflect the updated valuation of its stake in the Chinese company Shanghai RAAS.
This statement came from Reuters, citing a company announcement. Grifols has not yet commented on this news to MT Newswires..