French stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, with banks suffering heavy losses as the risk premium investors demand to hold French debt rose to its highest level since 2012 amid fiscal and political turbulence and angst over the fate of the new government. Banks BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale fell 2-3 percent while the...

U.K. stocks eked out modest gains in cautious trade on Wednesday as investors awaited the release of the Federal Reserves preferred measure of inflation and weighed the potential impact of U.S. President-elect Donald Trumps tariff proposals on economic growth. The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 12 points, or 0.2 percent, at 8,271 after declining 0.4...

European stocks traded lower on Wednesday as investors fretted about potential inflationary pressures arising from U.S. President-elect Donald Trumps proposed tariff policies. It is feared that Trumps economic plans, particularly tax cuts and tariffs, could have a substantial impact on the Federal Reserves plans to lower interest rates. Investor sentiment was also dented as the...

Indian shares eked out modest gains on Wednesday as the dollar slipped in international markets and a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon came into effect in the early hours today, denting oils risk premium. The ceasefire deal, agreed by both sides for a 60-day halt in fighting, requires Hezbollah to retreat...

The British pound weakened against most major currencies in the European session on Wednesday. The pound fell to nearly a 2-month low of 190.75 against the yen, from an early high of 192.41. Against the Swiss franc and the euro, the pound edged down to 1.1119 and 0.8356 from early highs of 1.1143 and 0.8333,...

German consumer confidence is set to deteriorate sharply at the end of the year as income expectations plunged to a nine-month low on growing fears of recession, a closely watched survey showed Wednesday. The consumer sentiment index slid to -23.3 in December from revised -18.4 in November, survey results jointly published by GfK and the...

A report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended November 23rd. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dipped to 213,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous weeks revised level of 215,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to...

The Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods increased by less than expected in the month of October. The report said durable goods orders rose by 0.2 in October after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in September. Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by...