LONDON — European stock markets perked up in midmorning trading on Thursday, buoyed by the prospect of unchanged interest rates in the U.S. — at least until next year.
Milan’s FTSE MIB led the way, climbing 1.3 percent to 22,118.25; followed by the DAX in Frankfurt, 1.2 percent to 10,035.72, and the CAC 40 in Paris, 1.1 percent to 4661.63. The FTSE 100 in London was up 0.9 percent to 6,325.54.
The euro traded at $1.14, while the pound fetched $1.53, and the Swiss franc equaled $1.05 at 11:30 am CET.
Retail and luxury stocks were uneven, with the morning’s biggest fallers including Burberry Group, which sank 12.3 percent to 12.45 pounds after the company reported lower-than-expected revenue growth in the first half due to a waning consumer appetite in China.
German e-commerce giant Zalando retreated 5.7 percent to 28.90 euros after the company said heavy investments pushed adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) into the red for the July to August period. The drop at Zalando came despite a sales advance of more than 41 percent in the third quarter.
Fashion and luxury investors were clearly spooked by the slowdown witnessed by Burberry in China. Ted Baker fell 4.1 percent to 27.69 pounds, while Mulberry Group was down 7.1 percent to 8.43 pounds, and Salvatore Ferragamo sank 4.1 percent to 24.98 euros.
Among the stocks that gained the most ground were Unilever, 4.7 percent to 39.27 euros; Safilo Group, 2.9 percent to 11.89 euros, and Asos.com, 3.2 percent to 30.25 pounds.
Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever said earlier in the day that third-quarter sales gained 9.4 percent, bolstered by a strong currency impact and emerging markets.
