Europe midday: Stoxx holds gains as investors eye Nvidia

(Sharecast News) - European stocks rallied on Wednesday after sharp losses in Paris and fresh concerns about the independence of the Federal Reserve weighed heavily on market sentiment in the previous session.

The Stoxx 600 was up 0.16% at 552 by 1209 BST, while France's CAC 40 gained 0.44% after falling 1.7% on Tuesday when France's three main opposition parties said they would not back a confidence vote called by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou for 8 September over his budget plans.

On the economics front a survey showed sentiment among German consumers was expected to fall for the third time in a row in September, with households' growing concerns about possible job loss and uncertainty about inflation weighing on the mood.

The forward-looking GfK consumer climate index fell to -23.6 for September, from a revised -21.7 for August, marking its lowest level since April and missing the -21.5 consensus forecast.

The income indicator fell sharply after five consecutive increases, slipping 11.1 points to 4.1, as concerns about job losses and uncertainty about inflation continued to dampen the outlook.

"Despite dramatic headlines surrounding Trump's bid to oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook, US markets barely flinched. Equities shook off early jitters to close marginally higher on light summer volumes, with the only real signal of unease coming from a further steepening in the yield curve," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman.

"Consumer confidence slipped alongside downward payroll revisions, reinforcing the narrative of a more cautious, income-sensitive consumer. All eyes now turn to Nvidia's earnings tonight, a potential catalyst that could reignite US momentum after Europe's recent outperformance."

In equity news, Orsted gained again as the Danish wind power giant bounced back from a record low on Monday after the US government halted plans for a wind farm off Rhode Island.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com