European Stocks Close Higher Despite Trade Jitters

(RTTNews) - The major European markets closed higher on Tuesday, recovering well from early losses, as investors picked up stocks despite lingering concerns about U.S. trade policy and President Donald Trump's criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Investors reacted positively to European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde's comments that the disinflation process in the euro area was "nearing completion." Some optimism about the U.S. and China striking an agreement to prevent a big trade war helped as well.

Auto, bank, healthcare and retailers stocks were among the prominent gainers.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.25%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.64%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended higher by 0.41% and 0.56%, respectively, while Switzerland's SMI edged down 0.13%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed higher.

Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland and Norway ended weak, while Italy and Turkiye closed flat.

In the UK market, Bunzl, Experian, Vodafone Group, Aviva, JD Sports Fashion, GSK, Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Unite Group, EasyJet, IAG and Rio Tinto gained 1.5 to 3.6%.

Sainsbury (J) climed 2.3% after the merchandise retail company confirmed the launch of a share buyback program worth up to 200 million pounds.

DCC ended down 4.5%. The sales and marketing services provider announced the sale of its healthcare division to HealthCo Investment Limited for £1,050 million.

Rentokil Initial, Polar Capital Technology, Diploma, Pershing Square Holdings, Howden Joinery, Scottish Mortgage and Ashtead Group declined sharply.

In Germany, Puma rallied about 6.7%. Sartorius climbed 5.5%. Volkswagen, Zalando, BASF, Adidas, Qiagen, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Deutsche Boerse, Continental, BMW, Bayer and Alliaz gained 1.8 to 3.2%.

SAP ended down 3.3%. Rheinmetall and MTU Aero Engines closed lower by about 2.3% and 1.8%, respectively.

In the French market, L'Oreal climbed more than 6% after reporging strong first-quarter results.

Vivendi rallied about 4.1%. Carrefour, Kering, Pernod Ricard, Essilor, Societe Generale, ArcelorMittal, Renault, AXA, Orange, STMicroElectronics, BNP Paribas, Engie, Safran, Stellantis and Edenred ended higher by 1 to 3.5%.

Schneider Electric, Airbus, Legrand and Vinci also declined sharply.

In economic news, Euro area consumer sentiment eroded for a second month in a row in April to its lowest level in one-and-a-half years, survey data from the European Commission showed on Tuesday.

The flash consumer confidence index slid to -16.7 from -14.5 in March. Economists had expected a score of -15.0. The latest reading was the lowest since -16.9 in November 2023.

The corresponding index for the EU shed 2.1 percentage points to reach -16.0.

Consumer confidence moved further away from its long-term average to its lowest level in 18 months, the EU said.