Zara owner Inditex pops 7% after posting strong sales growth; European markets edge higher

LONDON — European stocks opened in positive territory on Wednesday as global markets move higher.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.2% higher at the opening bell, with most major sectors and bourses in the green.

The positive open eyed by regional markets comes after major U.S. indexes recovered in Tuesday’s trading session and Asia-Pacific markets rose broadly overnight — that follows some losses at the start of the week.

Wall Street’s gains came on Tuesday as tech stocks such as Nvidia rose and bitcoin gained, a day after the flagship cryptocurrency logged its worst day since March. 

Investors are gauging the possibility of a year-end rally, as December trading historically bodes well for U.S. stocks and because November was such a downbeat month as profit-taking trimmed valuations for some high-flying names.

Zara’s parent company Inditex reported strong nine-month results on Wednesday, revealing a 10.6% increase in currency-adjusted sales between Nov. 1 and Dec. 1 versus the same period in 2024. Shares were last trading 7% higher. The Spanish firm noted that autumn/winter collections “remain well received.”

The fast-fashion group, which also owns brands Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius, said currency-adjusted sales rose 8.4% to 9.8 billion euros ($11.4 billion), and earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization grew 8.9% to 3.2 billion euros in the quarter.

The firm’s Madrid-listed shares have trailed the Stoxx 600 this year, down nearly 7% year-to-date coming into Wednesday’s trading session, amid increased competition from low-cost brands like China’s Shein and Temu.

German fashion brand Hugo Boss updated its guidance on Wednesday as it undertakes a strategic overhaul to “pave the way for profitable growth.” The company expects earnings before interest and taxes expected to hit between 300 million euros ($349 million) and 350 million euros in 2026 and expects sales to fall in the short term by rebound in 2027. Its shares dropped more than 10% on Wednesday.

Smiths Group, a FTSE-100 engineering company, announced in October that it would sell off some of its companies. Now, the British firm said Wednesday that its baggage-screening arm Smiths Detection will be sold to private equity firm CVC Capital for £2 billion ($2.65 billion). Smiths Group shares moved 1.8% higher in early dealmaking. It follows the recent sale of its electronic components unit Smiths Interconnect, which focused on defense and medical industries.

Traders stateside are also optimistic about corporate earnings results and are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Dec. 10.

Markets are pricing a roughly 89% chance of a cut during the upcoming meeting, which is much higher than the odds from mid-November, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Earnings in Europe come from Inditex. On the data front, European purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data is due.

— CNBC’s Pia Singh contributed to this market report.