Lisbon, Sept. 11, 2024 (Lusa) - Lisbon shares were mostly trading higher on Wednesday, with 12 of the 16 constituents of the benchmark Portugal Stock Index (PSI) up on Tuesday's close, led by shares in the energy companies Galp and EDP Renováveis, which rose 1.77% to €17.24 and 1.62% to €15.64 respectively.
At around 9.15 a.m., the PSI was maintaining the opening trend, up 0.76% to 6,757.44 points, with 12 shares rising, three falling and one remaining unchanged (Ibersol at 7.26).
Galp and EDP Renováveis were followed by BCP and Mota-Engil, which rose 1.40%, to €0.40 and €2.46 respectively.
Altri, Jerónimo Martins and EDP were among the biggest risers, up 0.54% to €4.80, 0.49% to €16.39 and 0.44% to €4.08 in turn.
Sonae, NOS and Navigator shares gained 0.42% to €0.97, 0.28% to €3.62 and 0.27% to €3.68.
The other two shares that rose in price were REN and Semapa, which rose 0.20% to €2.44 and 0.14% to €14.36.
Meanwhile, shares in CTT, Greenvolt and Corticeira Amorim fell 1.00% to €4.47, 0.24% to €8.31 and 0.22% to €9.12.
The main European stock markets were up on Wednesday, as investors awaited the publication of US inflation data for August.
Wall Street had ended mixed on Tuesday, a day when investors were braced for the evening's debate between the country's presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
The Dow Jones closed down 0.23% to 40,736.96 points, against the maximum since it was created in 1896 of 41,563.08 points, seen on 30 August, and the Nasdaq, created on 8 February 1971, advanced 0.84% to 17,025.88 points, against the maximum of 18,647.45 points seen on 10 July.
In Wednesday's session, attention will be centred on US inflation data for August, as experts say that if it remains low, it could confirm the Federal Reserve's plans to cut its main lending rates next week.
Analysts at Link Securities quoted by Spanish news agency Efe indicate that the CPI reading could largely determine whether the Fed will opt next week to cut rates by 25 basis points, which is what the vast majority of investors and analysts expect, or whether it will decide on a larger cut, of half a percentage point.
Before that, the European Central Bank meets on Thursday and, if market expectations are right, will cut rates by 25 basis points.
In the commodities market, prices for Brent crude, the benchmark in Europe, was recovered on Wednesday, after falling more than 3% on Tuesday to below $70 a barrel, following the downward revision by OPEC, the oil producers' club, of its forecasts for growth in world oil demand in 2024 and 2025.
A barrel of Brent oil for November delivery opened higher on Wednesday, at $70.09 on London's Intercontinental Exchange Futures (ICE), compared to $69.19 on Tuesday.
On the foreign exchange market, the euro opened stronger in Frankfurt, at $1.1048, compared to $1.1027 in the previous session.
MC/ARO // ARO.
Lusa
