European equities extended their rally to fresh record highs on Tuesday, with the STOXX 50 rising 0.6% to 6,050 points and the broader STOXX 600 holding around 611 points. A weaker-than-expected US core inflation reading of 2.6% eased concerns that accelerating price pressures could delay interest rate cuts by the Fed later in the year. Sentiment was further supported as worries over the Fed’s independence temporarily subsided following pushback from several Republican lawmakers against a Justice Department criminal investigation involving Chair Jerome Powell. At the stock level, Ørsted shares jumped 5.6% after a US judge cleared the company to resume work on its nearly completed Revolution Wind project. Gains were also seen in SAP (+2.4%), Eni (+2.0%), Siemens (+1.7%), Banco Santander (+1.3%), and Airbus (+1.2%). On the downside, Saint-Gobain (-4.4%), Vinci (-3.7%), Carrefour (-3.1%), and Bayer (-2.2%) were among the weakest performers.
