Forza Italia in early Europe

FORZA ITALIA IN EARLY EUROPE (0915 GMT)

Italy may not have made it to the soccer World Cup, but Milan blue-chips are leading the way this morning, as European equities trade in a sea of red so far. The FTSE MIB FTSEMIB is up 0.6%, by far the best performing index in the region, compared with a 0.1% loss in the broader STOXX 600 SXXP index, and well beyond Stockholm's 0.5% loss <.OMXS30>. Utility company ENEL ENEL is leading its sector higher and is up 1.5%, making it one of the biggest positive weights on the STOXX and lender UniCredit UCG is up 1.8%.

But today belongs to the pharma and biotech sector, which is the standout gainer, up 1% (.SXDP) thanks to a surge in shares of UK drugmaker GSK GSK following a U.S. ruling that dismissed thousands of lawsuits claiming that over-the-counter heartburn medication Zantac causes cancer. The stock rose as much as 15% earlier on and, with a 10% gain, is on track for its largest one-day rise since 1998. French rival Sanofi SAN, which is also part of the suit, is up 5.7%. All the drugmakers involved denied Zantac caused cancer.

(Amanda Cooper)

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HAT-TRICK (0755 GMT)

While European shares ended lower for the third straight session on Tuesday, spooked by recession worries, another hat-trick dominated the World Cup a few hours later.

Three goals by Portugal's 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos against Spain in his first World Cup sent his side through to the quarter-finals for the first time in 16 years. And a 3-0 shootout win by Morocco against former champions Spain meant that Morocco became the first Arab nation ever to qualify for the tournament's quarter-finals.

In the arena of European stocks, there seem to be little excitement for risky assets on Wednesday, with Asian equities trading rangebound after U.S. stocks again suffered losses as markets gradually factor in sharper interest rates hikes.

For the euro zone, commentary by officials is hinting at a peak in rates but anaemic growth and stubbornly high inflation are haunting investors.

ECB policymaker Constantinos Herodotou said on Tuesday that interest rates will go up again but are now "very near" their neutral level.

Markets will focus on industrial output data due from Germany, while euro zone third-quarter GDP and employment numbers, and UK house prices are among the other economic indicators for the day.

Euro zone government bond yields dropped for the first time in three days on Tuesday in the run-up to a raft of major central bank decisions next week.

A Reuters poll of market strategists expect the dollar to rebound against most currencies over the coming months, with the growing threat of recession in the U.S. and elsewhere keeping it firm in 2023 through safe-haven flows.

On Tuesday, top bankers from JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM, Bank of America BAC and Goldman Sachs GS warned of a recession next year, as inflation threatens consumer demand.

On the corporate front, Airbus AIR gave up a numerical forecast for jet deliveries and a date for its key production goal but retained its financial targets as it limped towards the end of a year battered by disruptions in factories and supply chains.

And British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government said it would ease restrictions on building onshore wind farms, heading off a revolt by his party's lawmakers who had demanded they should be permitted with local support.

Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:

Economic data: Germany Oct industrial production, Euro zone Q3 GDP, employment (final), UK Nov Halifax house prices

Speakers: ECB's Philip Lane, Elizabeth McCaul and Fabio Panetta

(Anshuman Daga)

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