European Stocks Close Broadly Higher As Investors Await Policy Announcements

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed broadly higher on Tuesday, recovering fairly well after losing ground in the previous session due to a sell-off in the technology sector amid concerns about the impact of low-cost AI model from Chinese startup DeepSeek on the earnings of big name players in the industry.

Investors focused on quarterly earnings updates and other corporate news, and looked ahead to monetary policy announcements from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.

Worries about trade policies of the Trump administration, and concerns about tech earnings due to the emergence of cost-effective Chinese startup DeepSeek's AI model weighed on sentiment and limited markets' upside.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.36%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.35% and Germany's DAX closed higher by 0.7%. France's CAC 40, which closed with a pronounced loss on Monday, settled lower by 0.12%, while Switzerland's SMI gained 0.31%.

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

Austria, Denmark and Sweden ended weak, while Iceland closed flat.

In the UK market, Experian, Scottish Mortgage, Spirax Group, Halma, Barratt Redrow, Whitbread, Kingfisher and Centrica climbed 3.1 to 4%.

Rentokil Initial gained nearly 3% after strong results. The pest control services company announced that its North America Organic Revenue growth was 2.3% in the fourth-quarter of 2024, with Organic Revenue growth in North America Pest Control Services of 1.5%, reflecting improved momentum in inbound lead flow from its marketing initiatives.

Howden Joinery, Persimmon, Associated British Foods, Entain, Marks & Spencer, BT Group, Compass Group, Airtel Africa, RightMove, Next, WPP and Tesco also closed sharply higher.

Beazley, Antofagasta, Fresnillo and Smiths Group lost 2 to 2.5%. Glencore, Rio Tinto, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Mondi, Ashtead Group, GSK, Hiscox, Smith (DS) and Anglo American Plc also ended notably lower.

HSBC Holdings closed flat. The bank has announced plans to scale back parts of its European investment banking operations as part of a broader restructuring led by new CEO Georges Elhedery.

In the German market, Sartorius zoomed nearly 12% thanks to the company's fourth-quarter earnings beating estimates, with underlying EBITDA coming in at 259 million euros.

Siemens Energy climbed about 7.5%, after the company pre-released strong preliminary earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Merck gained 3.25%. Deutsche Telekom and MTU Aero Engines closed higher by 2.8% and 2.6%, respectively. RWE, E.ON, Deutsche Bank, Mercedes-Benz, Vonovia and Rheinmetall also closed notably higher.

BMW ended nearly 3% down. Porsche, Daimler Truck Holding and Infineon lost 1 to 1.7%.

In the French market, Teleperformance rallied about 4.5%. Capgemini gained nearly 3.5% and Eurofins Scientific closed higher by 2.2%.

Dassault Systemes, Danone, Orange, Accor, Societe Generale, Unibail Rodamco, L'Oreal, Safran, Edenred, Carrefour, Thales, Veolia and Vinci gained 1 to 1.7%.

Schneider Electric tumbled about 6.5%, extending recent losses. STMicroElectronics lost about 3.1%, while Stellantis and Legrand closed lower by 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively.

Monthly survey data from the statistical office INSEE showed France's consumer confidence showed some recovery signs at the start of the year. The consumer sentiment index rose to a 3-month high of 92 in January from 89 in the previous month. The expected score was 90. However, the index remained well below its long-term average of 100.

The index measuring consumers' outlook regarding their financial situation rose to -10.0 in January from -14.0 a month ago. The sub-index for the past financial situation of households increased slightly to -22 from -23.