European Stocks Edge Higher; Ukraine War, French Election Debate in Spotlight

European stock markets edged higher Wednesday, but gains look tentative as investors monitor developments in Ukraine as well as French political uncertainty.

By 4 AM ET (0800 GMT), the DAX in Germany traded 0.3% higher, the CAC 40 in France rose 0.5% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.1%.

Russia continued its new offensive in Ukraine’s two eastern provinces Wednesday, in what Ukrainian officials have called the Battle of the Donbas, prompting Western governments to pledge more military help to Kyiv.

The turmoil surrounding Russia’s invasion prompted the International Monetary Fund to cut its forecasts for the second time this year, now projecting global growth of 3.6% in both 2022 and 2023, a drop of 0.8 and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.

Aside from Ukraine, investors will also focus on a crucial election debate later Wednesday between French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, the only one between the two candidates in a tight race to decide who will run the country for the next five years.

In corporate news, Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) stock fell 1.5% after the Swiss banking giant stated Wednesday that it expects a loss in first quarter earnings after substantially increasing legal provisions.

Danone (EPA:DANO) stock soared 7% after the French food group posted stronger-than-expected 7.1% sales growth in the first quarter, its fastest sales growth in seven years.

Heineken (OTC:HEINY) stock rose 3.4% after the drinks giant achieved a sharper than expected rise in first-quarter beer sales as European bars reopened, while ASML (AS:ASML) stock rose 2.6% after the Dutch-based lithographer announced plans to increase production capacity for its high-end chipmaking equipment after another strong quarter.

The economic data slate will center around the Eurozone industrial production for February, with the annual figure expected to rebound to 1.5% after a drop of 1.3% the previous month.

Additionally, new-car registrations in Europe fell 19% in March to 1.13 million vehicles, falling for a ninth consecutive month as the war in Ukraine further crippled supply chains.

Oil prices rebounded Wednesday from the previous session’s sharp losses, helped by data from the American Petroleum Institute showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories of just under 4.5 million barrels last week, pointing to healthy demand from the world’s largest consumer.

Investors now await crude oil supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, due later in the day, for confirmation.

By 4 AM ET, U.S. crude futures traded 1.4% higher at $103.47 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 1.3% to $108.64. Both benchmarks fell just over 5% on Tuesday.

Additionally, gold futures fell 0.9% to $1,944.35/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% higher at 1.0807.