"European Stocks" European stocks slightly rise in early trading, Tesco up nearly 2%, U.S. stock futures little changed

European stocks rose moderately on Thursday (16th), with the UK's February economic growth exceeding expectations, as the market continued to watch corporate quarterly data and the US-Iran ceasefire negotiations.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.74 points or 0.1%, to 618.01 points. The UK FTSE 100 index rose 14 points or 0.1%, to 10,573 points; the French CAC 40 index rose 30 points or 0.4%, to 8,304 points; the German DAX index rose 41 points or 0.2%, to 24,107 points; the Spanish IBEX 35 index rose 15 points or less than 0.1%, to 18,201 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index rose 96 points or 0.2%, to 48,252 points.

Supermarket Tesco's median operating profit forecast for the new fiscal year was slightly below expectations, but its stock price still rose by 1.7%. EasyJet warned that the Iranian conflict and rising fuel prices were affecting ticket bookings, and its stock price fell by 3.8%. In other stocks, Novo Nordisk rose by 4%, and software company SAP rose by 2.3%.

TotalEnergies fell slightly by 0.6%, stating that even if the Iranian conflict suppresses output, strong oil trading and high oil prices will boost first-quarter profits. BP rose by 0.6%, Shell fell by 0.4%, and Norwegian oil fell by 0.7%.

US stock futures showed little change, with Dow futures down 2 points, at 48,667 points; S&P 500 futures up 3 points, at 7,064 points; and Nasdaq 100 futures up 59 points or 0.2%, at 26,424 points.

In Asian stock markets, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets rose by 0.7% and 2.1%, respectively, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose by 1.7%, while the Taiwan and Japanese stock markets both reached new highs, rising by 1.1% and 2.4%, respectively. South Korean stocks rose by 2.2%, while Australian and New Zealand stocks fell by 0.3% and 0.1%. (da/)