Dipo Olowookere
By Investors Hub
After showing a lack of direction earlier in the session, European stocks have moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday.
While the German DAX Index has slumped by 1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 1.1 percent.
Italian bank UniCredit has shown a significant move to the downside on the day amid concerns about its Turkish operations.
On the other hand, Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems has soared after announcing a 200 million euro ($227 million) share buyback.
U.K. homebuilder Balfour Beatty has also jumped after its profits quadrupled in the first half of the year, helped by cost cutting and divestment gains.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals has also moved sharply higher. The drug maker raised its full-year guidance after posting improved first-half results.
On the data front, official data showed U.K. inflation rose for the first time since November, a development that could weigh on consumer spending in the second half of the year.
Consumer prices climbed 2.5 percent year-on-year in July, as expected, but slightly faster than the 2.4 percent increase in June.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the Office for National Statistics revealed that U.K. house price inflation was the lowest in nearly five years as London witnessed its worst decline in house prices since 2009.
House prices rose 3 percent year-on-year after a 3.5 percent gain in May. The latest increase was the smallest since August of 2013, when prices grew 3 percent.
