(RTTNews) - European stocks traded higher on Wednesday as geopolitical tensions eased, and investors reacted to reports of a leadership change at the European Central Bank.
A Financial Times report said Christine Lagarde plans to leave the European Central Bank before her eight-year term as president expires in October 2027.
The British pound traded below $1.36 after data showed U.K consumer price inflation eased to a ten-month low in January, reinforcing expectations that the Bank of England may cut interest rates as soon as March.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the consumer price index posted an annual increase of 3.0 percent, in line with expectations.
This was the lowest inflation since March 2025, when it stood at 2.6 percent. This followed December's 3.4 percent increase.
Elsewhere, French consumer price inflation slowed to 0.4 percent year-on-year in January, matching the preliminary reading published earlier.
The pan European Stoxx 600 rose half a percent to 624.65 after rising half a percent on Tuesday.
The German DAX gained half a percent, France's CAC 40 edged up by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.6 percent.
BAE Systems, Britain's biggest defense contractor, jumped 3.1 percent after reporting a better-than-expected 12 percent rise in full-year operating profit and raising shareholder payouts.
Commodity trader Glencore rallied 3 percent despite reporting lower full-year earnings.
Swiss dental implant maker Straumann Holding surged 4 percent after it beat fourth-quarter sales expectations and forecast 2026 sales growth in the high single-digit percentage range.
Europe's largest food retailer Carrefour slumped 4 percent after reporting a decline in operating profit in 2025 due to acquisition costs.
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