European Shares Rise On Solid Data, Rate Cut Hopes

(RTTNews) - European stocks traded higher on Tuesday after a survey showed that business activity in the euro zone expanded at its fastest pace in nearly a year this month.

The composite PMI increased from 50.3 to 51.4 in April on the back of a buoyant recovery in the bloc's dominant service sector.

Elsewhere in the U.K., a survey showed private sector activity in the country expanded for the sixth consecutive month in April. The composite PMI rose from 52.8 to 54.0, hitting an 11-month high.

Expectations of interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England also helped underpin investor sentiment.

The pan European STOXX 600 rose 0.6 percent to 505.17 after closing up 0.6 percent on Monday.

The German DAX added 0.6 percent, while France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both edged up around 0.3 percent.

Kuehne + Nagel International, a Swiss transport and logistics company, declined 2.6 percent after its first-quarter earnings fell 40 percent.

Drug major Novartis AG surged 4.7 percent after raising its full-year guidance.

JD Sports Fashion jumped more than 6 percent in London after it proposed to buy Hibbett in a deal that values the American sporting-goods retailer at $1.08 billion.

Mining giant Anglo American tumbled 3.5 percent after cutting its diamond production guidance.

Associated British Foods soared 9.5 percent. The Primark owner lifted its annual profit guidance after reporting a 39 percent jump in first-half profit.

Home builder Taylor Wimpey rose about 1 percent after reaffirming its outlook for 2024.

France's Renault SA fell about 1 percent as the auto major reported a marginal rise in revenue for the first quarter.

SAP AG shares surged 3.5 percent. The German software maker reaffirmed its outlook for 2024 after Q! cloud revenue increased 24 percent to 3.93 billion euro.