European Stocks Close Broadly Higher

(RTTNews) - Despite weak economic data from Germany and the U.K., European markets closed higher on Tuesday amid hopes central banks will be less aggressive with rate hikes in the coming months.

Data showed UK unemployment rate remained unchanged, Germany's economic confidence weakened to the lowest level since 2008, and the euro area trade deficit increased in the second quarter.

Expectations that Chinese policymakers would roll out more stimulus measures to boost sagging economic growth helped underpin sentiment. Positive reaction to quarterly earnings updates also helped lift stock prices.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.16%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.36%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.68% and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.34%, while Switzerland's SMI drifted down 0.37%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands and Poland ended weak.

In the UK market, Ted Baker soared nearly 17% after the fashion brand agreed to a 211 million pound ($254.3 million) final cash offer from Juicy Couture, Reebok and David Beckham brand owner Authentic Brands Group LLC.

Darktrace rallied nearly 23.5%. The cybersecurity company said it is in early stages of discussions with private equity firm Thoma Bravo about a possible takeover.

Mondi ended 2.8% down. The packaging and paper company has agreed to acquire the Duino mill near Trieste in Italy from the Burgo Group for a total consideration of 40 million euros.

Glencore, Rio Tinto, Anglo American Plc, B&M European Value Retail, Antofagasta, Next, Centrica, BAE Systems, IAG and BT Group gained 2 to 4%.

Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Aveva Group, RightMove and Fresnillo declined sharply.

In the German market, Delivery Hero shares ended nearly 6% up despite paring a substantial portion of its gains. The German food-delivery firm confirmed its full-year targets, which it updated in July.

RWE, Continental, Porsche Automobil, Covestro, E.ON, Deutsche Telekom, BASF, Fresenius Medical Care, Fresneius and Vonovia gained 1.3 to 3.3%.

Zalando, Qiagen, Sartorius, Symrise, HelloFresh and Merck ended notably lower.

In the French market, ArcelorMittal, Airbus Group, Thales, Orange, Michelin, Sanofi, Valeo, Air France-KLM, Faurecia and Publicis Groupe gained 1 to 3.2%.

Atos, Essilor, Teleperformance, WorldLine and Unibail Rodamco shed 1 to 2%.

Shares of Swiss hearing aid maker Sonova plummeted nearly 16% after the company lowered its full-year earnings forecast, citing a subdued market and ongoing input cost challenges.

Pandora slumped 6% after the Danish jewelry maker posted a fall in second-quarter operating profit.

In economic news, results of a closely watched survey revealed Germany's economic confidence weakened to the lowest since the global financial crisis in 2008, signaling the risk of a recession in the second half of the year.

The economic confidence index dropped to -55.3 in August from -53.8 in July, survey results from the ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research showed. This was the lowest score since October 2008, when the reading was -63.0. Economists had forecast the index to remain unchanged at -53.8.

The assessment of the current situation also deteriorated in August, which was down 1.8 points to -47.6. However, the reading was better than economists' forecast of -48.0.

Data from Eurostat showed the euro area trade deficit increased at the end of the second quarter, as exports fell amid an increase in imports. The seasonally adjusted trade deficit rose to EUR 30.8 billion in June from EUR 27.2 billion in May.

The trade balance also remained negative for the ninth successive month in June. Exports dropped marginally by 0.1% month-on-month in June, while imports increased 1.3%.

The UK labor market turned less tight in the middle of the year as job vacancies declined for the first time since August 2020 and the unemployment rate remained unchanged, the latest Labor Force Survey from the Office for National Statistics showed.

The jobless rate came in at 3.8% in the second quarter, the same rate as seen in three months to May and in line with expectations. However, this was up by 0.1 percentage points from the first quarter.