European Shares Climb on U.S. Rate Cut Hopes, Admiral’s Strong Earnings Boost

European shares opened higher on Thursday as favorable inflation data reinforced expectations of a U.S. rate cut in September, while a strong earnings report from insurer Admiral added to the positive market sentiment.

By 0710 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index had risen 0.2%, approaching a two-week high and marking its third consecutive session of gains. The insurance sector led the way, driven by a 10.3% surge in Admiral’s stock after the British motor and home insurer reported a better-than-expected 32% increase in first-half pre-tax profit.

This week’s mild U.S. inflation readings have bolstered hopes that the Federal Reserve will reduce borrowing costs in September for the first time in over four years.

In the U.K., data released earlier showed that Britain’s economy grew by 0.6% in the second quarter, in line with economists’ expectations. Despite this, the FTSE 100 remained flat.

In other notable stock movements, Dutch payments company Adyen saw a 6.4% increase after beating half-year core profit expectations, while Orsted, the world’s largest offshore wind farm developer, fell 7.2% following its second-quarter results.