European shares gain ahead of key US inflation data

June 12 (Reuters) – European shares edged higher on Wednesday in the run-up to the release of key US inflation data which will determine whether the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its monetary policy tightening.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.3% by 7:07 GMT.

The US data, scheduled to be released at 1230 GMT, is expected to show the consumer price (CPI) index moderated to 3.1% year-on-year in June after May’s 4% rise.

A sharp slowdown in inflation could fuel bets that the Fed might end its market-punishing rate hikes after July.

Technology stocks were the top gainers among European sectors as shares of semiconductor firms, including ASML Holding and Infineon, rose between 0.8% and 2.2% after Jefferies raised its price target on the stocks.

Among individual stocks, Norway’s largest bank DNB opened 1.1% lower even as its second-quarter profit topped expectations, helped by a robust economy and higher interest rates.

(Reporting by Matteo Allievi in Gdansk and Amruta Khandekar in Bangalore; Editing by Sohini Goswami)