"European Stocks" European stocks performed well in the early session, with Zara's parent company and Stellantis rising, and the Spanish stock market reaching a historical high

European stocks rose in the early session on Wednesday (3rd), with several semiconductor-related shares hitting new highs. The Spanish stock market reached an all-time high, driven by a surge in Inditex's share price.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by 1.18 points or 0.2%, closing at 576.83 points. The UK FTSE 100 index fell by 8 points or less than 0.1%, closing at 9,693 points; the French CAC 40 index rose by 2 points, closing at 8,076 points; the German DAX index rose by 67 points or 0.3%, closing at 23,778 points; the Spanish IBEX 35 index rose by 147 points or 0.9%, closing at 16,621 points, reaching an intraday high of 16,667 points, a record; the Italian FTSE MIB index rose by 168 points or 0.4%, closing at 43,523 points.

Zara's parent company Inditex reported that sales in the past month increased by over 10% year-on-year after adjusting for exchange rates, with its share price rising by 8.2%. German clothing brand Hugo Boss expects its EBIT to decrease by €300 million to €350 million next year due to strategic adjustments, causing its share price to drop by 11.7%. Automotive stock Stellantis rose by 7.6%, as UBS upgraded its rating to "Buy," optimistic about the recovery in the North American market. Chip stocks performed well, with Infineon Technologies and STMicroelectronics rising by 2.1% and 4.9%, respectively, while ASML rose by 2.8%.

In U.S. stock futures, the Dow Jones futures rose by 74 points to 47,618 points, the S&P 500 index rose by 6 points to 6,847 points, and the Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 14 points to 25,620 points.

In the Asia-Pacific stock markets, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets fell by 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively. The Hang Seng Index closed down 334 points or 1.3%, closing at 25,760 points, with a turnover of HKD 164.4 billion. The Taiwan stock market rose by 0.8%, while Japanese and South Korean stocks rose by 1.1% and 1%, respectively. Australian and New Zealand stock markets rose by 0.2% and 0.6%. The Indian rupee fell below 90 to the dollar, hitting an all-time low, and the Indian Nifty 50 index fell by 122 points or 0.5%, closing at 25,909 points. The Singapore Straits Times Index rose by 11 points or 0.3%, closing at 4,549 points. The Thai and Malaysian stock markets fell by 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively, while the Indonesian stock market fell by less than 0.1%, and the Philippine stock market fell by 1.5%. The Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh stock markets in Vietnam rose by 0.3% and 0.9%, respectively