European Shares Extend Gains For Fourth Day; US Inflation Report Eyed

(RTTNews) - European stocks were flat to slightly higher on Tuesday, extending gains for a fourth day running amid signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks.

A cautious undertone prevailed after U.S. President Donald Trump said that the European Union is 'nastier than China' and 'we've just started with them'- signaling tough trade negotiations.

The pan European STOXX 600 edged up by 0.2 percent to 545.68 after climbing 1.2 percent in the previous session.

The German DAX was marginally higher, France's CAC 40 gained 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was little changed ahead of key U.S. inflation data due later in the day.

Germany's top reinsurers Hannover Re and Munich Re both tumbled over 3 percent after reporting heavy losses stemming from the wildfires that engulfed Los Angeles.

LEG Immobilien SE fell nearly 2 percent as the real estate firm reported posted lukewarm like-for-like rental growth in the first quarter of 2025.

Peer Deutsche Wohnen declined 4 percent despite confirming its annual outlook.

Vonovia, which specializes in owning and managing residential real estate estates, lost 3.5 percent after launching an unsecured convertible bond offering totalling 1.3 billion euros in principal.

Pharmaceutical and agricultural company Bayer AG soared almost 10 percent after posting a smaller than expected drop in quarterly adjusted profit and confirming 2025 targets.

In economic releases, U.K. retail sales grew strongly in April largely due to the timing of the Easter and good weather conditions, data from the British Retail Consortium showed.

Total retail sales increased 7.0 percent on a yearly basis in April in contrast to the 4.0 percent decline in the same period last year.

The U.K. unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent in the three months to March, in line with expectations, from 4.4 percent in the preceding period, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Germany's ZEW Economic Sentiment figures will draw interest later in the session.