European markets fall; UK inflation and economy in focus ahead of Spring Statement

Commerzbank‘s supervisory board established a Special Committee in September last year to “support it in its supervision and advisory tasks” relating to UniCredit‘s unexpected accrual and later increase of a stake in the German lender.

The committee met five times last year and “conducted a detailed examination of UniCredit’s stake” and its impact on the German bank, Commerzbank disclosed in its annual report out on Wednesday.

Since the end of last year, Commerzbank has been making a case to stand alone with investors, amid the looming possibility of a potential takeover bid from UniCredit, which is simultaneously pursuing a tie-up with Italian peer Banco BPM. UniCredit has secured a 28% stakehold in Commerzbank, largely through derivatives, and earlier this month clinched the critical European Central Bank’s approval to hold up to 29.9% in the German lender.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Germany’s Renk Group was trading 0.6% higher at 8:50 a.m. London time, after the company published its 2024 full-year earnings.

The defense contractor reported a record order intake of 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion), citing strong market conditions. Adjusted EBIT jumped 26% from the previous year to 189 million euros, while revenue rose 23.2% year-on-year to reach 1.1 billion euros.

Renk — whose product offering includes military vehicles and equipment — said it expected revenue to hit 1.3 billion euros in 2025, with adjusted EBIT forecast to come in between 210 million euros and 235 million euros this year. Its medium-term forecast remained unchanged, with a 2 billion euro target and projected 15% organic revenue growth for 2028 kept in place.

“This outlook is based on the currently expected operating performance, the high order backlog and does not take into account any further market potential from increased defence spending in the EU,” the company said in a release on Wednesday.

Shares of the company have gained 141% since the beginning of the year.

— Chloe Taylor

Shares of Thales were 0.9% higher by 8:30 a.m. in London, after the French defense giant announced it had been awarded a 10-year operational support and logistics contract with the French Defense Ministry.

The deal will see Thales double its equipment handling capacity in the event of a high-intensity conflict.

“In terms of its scale and format, the contract is the first of its kind for the French armed forces and will ultimately consolidate some 30 separate support contracts for land-based equipment in service with the French Army, Navy and Air & Space Force,” Thales said in a news release on Wednesday morning.

The company did not disclose the monetary value of the contract.

— Chloe Taylor

Consumer confidence in France fell slightly in March from the previous month, figures from the country’s statistics agency Insee showed on Wednesday.

French consumers were feeling more pessimistic about their personal financial situations, capacity to save and overall standard of living, Insee said.

Economists polled by Reuters had been expecting French consumer confidence to improve slightly this month.

— Chloe Taylor

Yields on U.K. government bonds — known as gilts — with long maturity terms rose on Tuesday, after official data showed Britain’s inflation rate cooled to 2.8% last month.

The yield on 20-year gilts was 5 basis points higher at 7:40 a.m., while 30-year gilt yields added 1 basis point. Yields on 5- and 10-year gilts were little changed, while 2-year gilt yields were 1 basis point higher.

— Chloe Taylor

Home improvement retailer Kingfisher became the latest British company to report a negative impact from U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves’ October budget — as she prepares her latest update on the state of the British economy.

In its annual earnings release on Tuesday, Kingfisher, which owns home improvement retailer B&Q, said the government’s policies had “raised costs for retailers and impacted consumer sentiment,” with sales of big-ticket items falling.

It is the latest in a line of British businesses that have criticized Reeves’ bumper tax-rising budget since autumn. The companies will now be keeping a close eye on Reeves’ Spring Statement, when she’s set to update lawmakers on her latest spending and taxation plans at 12:30 p.m. London time Wednesday.

Read the full story here.

— Matt Ward-Perkins

The British pound was 0.2% lower against the dollar at 7:19 a.m. in London, shortly after official data showed U.K. inflation cooled to 2.8% in February.

Sterling was last seen trading at $1.2917.

— Chloe Taylor

Britain’s Labour government will come under intense scrutiny on Wednesday, as Finance Minister Rachel Reeves prepares to update lawmakers on her spending and taxation plans and the nation’s economic outlook amid unsettling times for the U.K.

Reeves is expected to announce billions of pounds worth of spending cuts as a way to close a budget shortfall caused by a rise in borrowing costs since her first fiscal plan, released last fall.

Read the full story here.

— Holly Ellyatt

Britain’s consumer price index rose by 2.8% in the 12 months to February, figures from the country’s Office for National Statistics showed on Wednesday.

In January, the U.K.’s annual inflation print rose to a higher than expected 3%.

European markets are expected to open in broadly higher territory Wednesday.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 4 points higher at 8,673, Germany’s DAX up 38 points at 23,142, France’s CAC 6 points higher at 8,108 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 87 points higher at 38,769, according to data from IG. 

It’ll be a busy day for U.K. financial markets, with the latest inflation data expected at 7a.m. London time, and the “Spring Statement” from U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves due just after midday local time.

Other data releases include French consumer confidence figures. There are no major earnings releases Wednesday.

— Holly Ellyatt