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(Sharecast News) - European stocks rallied and nudged towards record territory on Wednesday as investors digested a fall in eurozone inflation to below the European Central Bank's target level of 2%.
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.65% to 621.9 at 1213 GMT. Germany's DAX was flat, while the UK's FTSE 100 outperformed with a 1.37% rise as an improved takeover offer by Zurich for rival insurer Beazley drive the index to a new record high of 10,464 points.
Beazley shares also touched a new peak of 12.69 each, a rise of more than 8.6%.
Concerns about the expanding tentacles of artificial intelligence sparked a sell-off in the US overnight after an updated chatbot release from AI developer Anthropic designed to automate legal work such as contract reviewing and templated responses.
"The announcement spooked markets, triggering a sharp selloff in software companies that sell data analytics and decision-making tools to lawyers, banks and corporates, on fears that AI and new players are coming for their lunch - and at an accelerated pace," said Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
Eurozone inflation dipped below target in January, according to early estimates, in line with expectations.
According to flash readings from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, annual inflation was 1.7% in January, down from 2% in December.
A slide in energy prices - down 4.1%a - was the biggest downward pressure on the rate.
Precious metal prices stabilised after days of geopolitical volatility. Gold gained 2.84% to sit above the $5,000 mark, while silver climbed almost 3% to $90 an ounce.
In equity news, shares in Novo Nordisk plunged by almost a fifth after the company released its results ahead of schedule overnight.
The drug maker warned investors that sales and profit growth would fall this year, after it was hit by lower prices in the US and the end of exclusivity for its Wegovy and Ozempic weight loss drugs in China, Brazil and Canada.
UBS fell after the Swiss lender despite fourth-quarter net profits beating forecasts.
Spanish bank Santander was also lower after announcing the purchase of US regional lender Webster Bank in a deal worth $12.2bn.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com