European Shares Mostly Higher With PMI Data In Focus

(RTTNews) - European stocks traded mostly higher on Tuesday after the release of mixed Chinese manufacturing data.

Eurozone's PMI Manufacturing was finalized at 44.4 in December, up slightly from November's 44.2.

Growth in the lending to households in the euro area slowed in November, while loans to the non-financial institutions were unchanged, preliminary data from the European Central Bank showed.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.3 percent to 480.48. The German DAX climbed 0.8 percent and France's CAC 40 added 0.4 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was little changed.

ASML edged down slightly after the Dutch government blocked the company's exports to China of some chip-making equipment.

Bio-pharmaceutical firm Galapagos NV rose 0.6 percent after it entered into a deal to sell its Jyseleca business to Italian pharma company Alfasigma.

Denmark's shipping giant Maersk surged 4 percent. The company suspended the passage of vessels through a key Red Sea strait for 48 hours, after Yemeni rebels attacked one of its merchant ships.

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd jumped 5.3 percent after an announcement on Friday that it had decided to continue diverting its vessels away from Suez and the Red Sea for security reasons.

TotalEnergies rose about 2 percent. The French company announced the start of crude oil production from the second development phase of the Mero field on the Libra block located over 180 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the pre-salt area of the Santos Basin.

Danone gained about 1 percent. The food giant announced that it has signed an agreement to sell its premium organic dairy activity in the U.S. to Platinum Equity, a U.S.-based investment firm.

BP Plc rose about 1 percent and Shell added half a percent as oil prices jumped nearly 2 percent on fears of supply disruption amid the attacks in the Red Sea region.

The risks of the Israel-Gaza conflict morphed into a wider regional conflict after U.S. helicopters repelled an attack on Sunday by Iran-backed Houthi militants on a Maersk container vessel in the Red Sea.

ANGLE, the liquid-biopsy company, added 1.5 percent after signing a contract with Eisai.

Oil and gas engineering services business Plexus Holdings gained 1.7 percent.

The company said its existing surface production wellhead license agreement with SLB, an oilfield services company, has been replaced by a new agreement with wider field of use for a consideration of $5.2 million to be paid in cash.