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Europe Markets: European stocks rise ahead of Powell speech on interest rates

European stocks rose on Friday ahead of a pivotal speech on the future of U.S. interest rates. Read More...
Reuters

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and New York Federal Reserve President John Williams walk together, ahead of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank?s annual conference on monetary policy, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, U.S., August 22, 2019.

European stocks rose on Friday ahead of a pivotal speech on the future of U.S. interest rates.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, +0.56%   added 0.43% to 375.91.

The German DAX DAX, +0.55%  increased 0.38% to 11792.12, the French CAC 40 PX1, +0.56%  increased 0.41% to 5410.51 and the U.K. FTSE 100 UKX, +0.72%  rose 0.74% to 7181.04.

U.S. stock futures ES00, +0.40%  also rose after the Dow industrials DJIA, +0.19%  climbed by nearly 50 points on Thursday.

What’s happening

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time to address the Jackson Hole conference on challenges for monetary policy. After European markets close, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney also will address the venue.

“If Powell’s speech continues to portray the Fed rate cut in July as a mid-cycle adjustment and does not sound worried about growth, there could be room for further fine-tuning of easing expectations but a larger impact could be felt by risk assets – equities, commodities, EM FX etc,” said strategists at Citi.

Opinion: Brace for a stock market drop if the Fed’s Powell doesn’t yield to Trump

Related: The Bank of England’s rate problem isn’t about to go away

Separately, in Italy, President Sergio Mattarella has given parties until Tuesday to work out a deal or face new elections.

Focus stocks

Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One ETO, +30.13%   soared nearly 30% to 576 pence in London after receiving a 3.3 billion pound, or 560 pence a share, cash offer from Hasbro. The market is pricing in the possibility of a counteroffer.

ITV ITV, +4.58%  , which in 2016 tried to buy Entertainment One, climbed 5.4%.

Rockwood International ROCK.B, -13.32% , a maker of industrial wool that is used for insulation, dropped 12.9% in Copenhagen after cutting its sales outlook to 2% to 5% growth at constant currencies, down from a previous forecast of 4% to 8%.

Ryanair Holdings RY4C, +3.61% RYAAY, +0.23%  , on the second day of a strike by British pilots, rose 2.4%. The budget airline said its U.K. flights have not been disrupted.

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