FTSE 100 up 0.23%; DAX up 0.42%; CAC 40 up 0.34% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milan, 14 Aug - European shares were moderately higher at mid-session, extending a recent rebound amid strong global markets, with the Stoxx 600 index up 0.18%.

At 1125 GMT, the London FTSE 100 was up 0.23% at 8,254 points, the Frankfurt DAX was up 0.42% at 17,881 points, the Paris CAC 40 up 0.34% at 7,300 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB was up 0.73% at 32,240 points, and in Madrid the IBEX 35 was flat at 10,724 points. Investors awaited US consumer price index data due later today for more cues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate path. The reading is expected to show inflation cooled slightly in July.

The Fed is hoping the US economy will slow enough to be able to tame high inflation while not slowing too rapidly economic growth and running the risk of triggering a possible recession.

Data showed yesterday that producer prices rose less than expected for July, increasing by 0.1%.

Investors also digested data showing that UK inflation rose to 2.2% in July, coming in slightly below expectations but above the Bank of England's 2% target. Economists polled by Reuters expect the headline rate to tick higher to 2.3%, up from 2% over the past two months.

The figures come after the Bank of England earlier this month slashed interest rates for the first time in over four years, taking the key bank rate to 5%.

In the second quarter of 2024, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.3% in both the euro area and the EU, compared with the previous quarter, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the first quarter of 2024, GDP had also grown by 0.3% in both zones.

In June 2024 compared with the previous month, seasonally adjusted industrial production in the eurozone decreased by 0.1% while it was unchanged in the European Union, according to data from EU statistical office Eurostat.

Compared with the year earlier, industrial production in June 2024 decreased by 3.9% in the euro area and by 3.2% in the EU.

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(RADIOCOR) 14-08-24 13:32:25 (0303) 5 NNNN