Spanish stocks rose on Wednesday after Inditex announced strong quarterly results, while other European stock markets fell as shares of luxury goods and mining companies experienced losses following weak trade data from China. The European Stoxx 600 index dropped by 0.2%, while the Spanish index increased by 0.6% by 07:12 GMT. Inditex's shares surged nearly 4% after reporting a 16% jump in sales for its Spring/Summer collection over the past month.
The European retail stocks index gained 2.2%, leading the gains in sub-sectors, while the mining sector fell by 0.7%. Chinese exports contracted at a faster-than-expected pace in May, while imports continued to decline amid bleak expectations for global demand, especially from developed markets. Shares of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the luxury goods giant most exposed to China and the largest by market capitalization in Europe, fell by 0.5%.
