Eurozone Inflation Sparks ECB Caution as Chip Stocks Rally

The European Central Bank (ECB) is being kept on edge by eurozone inflation, which ticked higher in July to 2.9%.

This was a slight increase from June's rate of 2.8%, but the bigger point was that 'core' inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose to 2.5% from 2.4%.

ING, a Dutch bank, said the overall reading looked fairly calm, but warned that inflation could pick up again, leaving the ECB cautious about cutting rates anytime soon.

The DAX was steadied by late-month lift in chip stocks, with Infineon gaining 3.7% and silicon wafer supplier Siltronic rising after Deutsche Bank Research upgraded it and argued that 'agentic AI' could tighten supply in 300-millimeter wafers - the large disks used to make advanced chips.