stocks, news, UK inflation data

Shares in the miner fell on Wednesday afternoon after Anglo American rejected a third takeover proposal from rival BHP Group as the companies agreed to extend the deadline for negotiations by one week.

Shares in Anglo initially rose before paring gains by 0.65% by 16:10 London time. BHP fell 3.4%, while rival miners Antofagasta and Glencore fell more than 3.5%

—Karen Gilchrist

Auto stocks led European markets lower on Wednesday, with the latest sector down 1.97% at 10:27 a.m. London time.

Concerns about the tariffs grew after China’s Global Times newspaper quoted an expert from the government’s automotive research body as saying the world’s second-largest economy should temporarily raise import duties on gasoline cars with large engines.

Tariffs could reach up to 25%, the highest level possible under World Trade Organization rules, he said.

—Sophie Kiderlin

Traders cut bets that the Bank of England will start cutting interest rates this summer after UK inflation data came in higher than expected.

While the headline rate fell sharply to 2.3% from 3.2%, it was below the 2.1% forecast in a Reuters poll. Both core inflation and inflation in services, which the BOE closely monitors, were higher than forecast.

At 8:40 a.m. in London, overnight interest rate swaps showed a 13% chance of a rate cut at the June meeting, up from around 50% before press. The probability of an August cut fell from 70% to 40%, with the Bank Rate cut not fully appreciated until November.

The British pound jumped on the news, trading 0.3% higher against the US dollar at $1.274 and 0.27% higher against the euro at 1.174. Both were at their highest levels against currencies since March, according to LSEG data.

—Jenni Reid

European markets opened lower on Wednesday, with all major bourses starting the day in the red following the release of fresh UK inflation data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was last down 0.34% at 8:10 a.m. London time.

Meanwhile, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.52%, Germany’s DAX was down 0.4% and France’s CAC 40 was down 0.43%.

Autos fell 2.3% and oil and gas stocks lost 0.74%.

—Sophie Kiderlin

Inflation in the UK fell to 2.3% in April, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday, bringing it closer to the Bank of England’s target rate, although missing expectations.

The headline fell from March’s 3.2%, but economists polled by Reuters had expected a steeper decline to 2.1%.

Core inflation, excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, fell to 3.9% in April from 4.2% in March.

Read the full story here.

—Jenni Reid

Six AI-related stocks around the world responded consistently positively to Nvidia’s quarterly results, according to CNBC Pro research.

The analysis comes ahead of Nvidia’s first-quarter earnings this year, which will be released Wednesday after the stock markets close.

The five-six stock rose 6% to 33% in the past after Nvidia revealed extraordinary earnings.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the six stocks here.

— Ganesh Rao

Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Andrew Slimmon has been consistently bullish on stocks — even during periods of volatility.

While he worries that changing market conditions could cause “some sort of correction in stocks”, the senior portfolio manager believes it’s “clear sailing” for stocks for now.

“I think it will make sense to defend a bit more in the summer, but it’s too early for that,” he said. “Stick to the balance between growth and values.”

Names four stocks to buy.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets are expected to open lower on Tuesday.

Britain’s FTSE 100 is expected to open 43 points lower at 8,381, Germany’s DAX down 60 points at 18,708, France’s CAC down 33 points at 8,139 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 140 points at 34,788, according to IG data.

Earnings come from Kingfisher, Smiths Group, Fresnillo and Generali. Eurozone trade balance and construction data for March are available.

—Holly Elliott