European Stocks Close Broadly Higher On Strong Data, Easing Trade Tensions

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed on a positive note on Tuesday, continuing to benefit from U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to amid slightly easing concerns about a potential trade war following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision decision to wait till July 9th to implement the 50% tariffs he had threatened to impose on imports from the European Union.

The U.S. President's move came after a call from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The EU has now pledged to fast-track talks to avoid a transatlantic trade war.

Investors also digested a report showing an uptick in German consumer sentiment, and data showing a moderation in France's consumer price inflation in the month of May.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil's announcement that the German government plans to allocate approximately €110 billion in public investments this year, alongside broad structural reforms and ongoing fiscal consolidation to support economic recovery, contributed as well to the positive sentiment in the German market.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.37%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX both gained 0.71%, and France's CAC 40 edged up 0.14%. Switzerland's SMI crept up 0.06%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Russia closed on firm note.

Spain and Sweden posted modest gains. Turkiye ended notably lower, while Portugal edged down slightly.

In the UK market, Melrose Industries rallied more than 5.5%. IAG climbed about 4.5%, while Intermediate Capital Group, Ashtead Group, BAE Systems, Marks & Spencer, Schroders, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Entain, Land Securities, St. James's Place, Bunzl, Spirax Group and Anglo American Plc, Glencore and M&G gained 2 to 3.1%.

Centrica, Rio Tinto, Endeavour Mining and Experian lost 1.2 to 1.6%.

In the German market, Puma and Zalando gained about 4.9% and 4.8%, respectively. Rheinmetall, Qiagen, Siemens Energy, Brenntag and Infineon climbed 2 to 3.1%.

Commerzbank, SAP, MTU Aero Engines, Siemens, Beiersdorf, BASF and Daimler Truck Holding also closed notably higher.

E.ON, RWE, Heidelberg Materials, Porsche, Fresenius Medical Care, BMW and Volkswagen closed weak.

In the French market, Thales, STMicroElectronics, Unibail Rodamco, Schneider Electric, Vivendi, Airbus and Legrand gained 1 to 2%.

Renault ended more than 2% down. Orange, Bouygues, Engie, Vinci and Societe Generale also ended weak, albeit with less pronounced losses.

A report published by GfK market research institute and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions, showed German consumer sentiment rose for a third straight month. The forward-looking index rose by 0.9 points month on month to -19.9 points.

Preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed France's consumer price inflation moderated slightly in May to the lowest level in more than four years amid a slowdown in costs for services and a continued fall in energy prices.

The consumer price index rose 0.7% on a yearly basis in May, slower than the 0.8% stable increase seen in April. Meanwhile, economists had expected inflation to rise to 0.9%.

Further this was the lowest inflation rate since February 2021, when prices had risen 0.6%.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices dropped 0.1% in May, reversing a 0.6% increase a month ago.

EU-harmonized inflation also slowed to 0.6% from 0.9% in the prior month. Monthly, the HICP edged down 0.2% versus an increase of 0.7% in April.

Data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association showed Europe new car registrations declined in the four months to April as uncertainty over the trade tariffs weighed on demand.

New car sales fell 1.2% in the year-to-date period compared to the previous year. Among big-four economies, Spain reported a robust sales growth of 12.2% in the January to April period.

Meanwhile, sales in Germany decreased 3.3% and that in France slid more sharply by 7.3%. Italy reported a moderate fall of 0.6%.

However, Europe car sales rebounded 1.3% on a yearly basis in April, following a 0.2% fall in March.