Slow but steady Growth and a dividend upgrade

European Markets closed mixed on Wednesday, following economic data reports released across the continent. The employment rate in the United Kingdom was 75.2%, which was 0.6% higher than the previous year. Meanwhile, private sector in Germany showed maintained strong growth despite slowing to a three-month low in February. On the Eurozone front, business activity continued to rise in February. Speaking about Brexit, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney told lawmakers markets have started to count on a faster pace of interest rate increases, in line with macroeconomic data.

The FTSE 100 gained 0.48% after the opening bell. Glencore led the winnings, rising 5.70% on news concerning revenue in 2017 increasing 34% year over year to $205.4 billion. The DAX was 0.14% lower at the close, with RWE decreasing 2.19% at the end of the day. The CAC 40 ended the session 0.23% in the green, with Accor soaring 4.18%, following reports on net profit rise in 2017.

German private sector growth slows in February

The private sector in Germany showed maintained strong growth despite slowing to a three-month low in February. This slower growth in February was driven by both the manufacturing and service sectors. Positively, the business confidence towards the performance in the next 12 months spiked higher.

SAP to lift dividend by 15 cents to €1.4 per share

The multinational software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations, SAP SE announced a lift in dividends. The company’s board of directors said they changed the dividend policy to target a minimum of 40% of after tax profit, an increase of five percentage points. This will result in at €1.4 per share for last year, which is 12% or 15 euro cents higher on an annual scale.

This came to light after the company published their earnings reports, highlighting its cloud and software revenue for the last quarter of the year amounted to €5.81 billion, increasing 1% year on year. The firm's total revenue was also up 1% to €6.81 billion. The company also noted its new cloud bookings rose by 22% in the fourth quarter of 2017 to €591 million compared to the same period last year while cloud subscriptions and support revenue added 20% to €995 million year on year. The software firm's operating profit for the period stood at €1.96 billion, growing 1% compared to the last quarter of 2016.