BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors digested U.K. inflation data and awaited a raft of earnings for direction.
Higher oil prices served to limit potential gains after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the United States must end pressure and threats, cease regional pressure, and lift economic sanctions before any negotiations.
In economic news, U.K. consumer price inflation rose to a one-year high in September on motor fuel prices, the Office for National Statistics said.
Consumer prices registered an annual growth of 3.5 percent after rising 3.1 percent in August. The rate was the highest since last October and also came in above forecast of 3.4 percent.
Core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, accelerated to 2.8 percent in September from 2.6 percent in the prior month.
Separate set of data revealed the U.K. budget deficit widened more than estimated in September.
The pan-European STOXX 600 edged up 0.3 percent to 640.69 after closing 0.1 percent lower on Tuesday.
The German DAX inched up 0.2 percent and France's CAC 40 rose half a percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was marginally lower.
In corporate news, German sportswear giant Adidas rose 1.6 percent after lifting its FY26 profit outlook.
Aroundtown shares soared 7 percent. The real estate company said its subsidiary Grand City Properties SA has acquired a 20.04 percent stake in German residential property company LEG Immobilien SE. Shares of the latter rallied 3.3 percent.
Swedish engineering group SKF tumbled 3.2 percent despite posting improved profit and margins in the third quarter.
Medical technology company Getinge advanced 1.7 percent after surpassing Q3 profit forecasts.
French payment service provider Edenred plunged 5 percent after trimming its 2026 EBITDA guidance.
Testing group Eurofins Scientific rose about 2 percent after confirming its objectives for 2027.
Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel gained 1.3 percent after narrowing its third-quarter net loss.
Randstad skyrocketed 20 percent. The staffing company flagged an improvement in trends after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter results.
Aberdeen shares fell 3.3 percent in London. The company said its assets under management and administration rose 4 percent at the end of September from the end of 2025.
Spanish electric utility Iberdrola gained 1 percent after raising its profit target for this year for the second time.
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