European stocks closed higher on Tuesday, as investors evaluated earnings reports, economic data, and anticipated further data releases and monetary policy announcements from the Federal Reserve, Bank of England, and Bank of Japan.
Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose by 0.49% and 0.42%, respectively. The U.K.’s FTSE 100, however, declined by 0.22%, while Switzerland’s SMI increased by 0.55%. The pan-European Stoxx 600 remained unchanged.
Elsewhere in Europe, markets in Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and Sweden closed higher. Conversely, Greece, Poland, Portugal, and Turkey experienced declines, while Iceland and Norway remained flat.
In the U.K. market, Standard Chartered surged nearly 6% following the announcement of a $1.5 billion share buyback, backed by stronger-than-expected second-quarter profits. Burberry Group and Weir Group increased by 3.7% and 3.63%, respectively. Other notable gainers included Admiral Group, Beazley, Endeavour Mining, Marks & Spencer, Next, LondonMetric Property, Reckitt Benckiser, Pershing Square Holdings, Melrose Industries, RightMove, Auto Trader Group, Schroders, Intertek Group, Sainsbury, M&G, WPP, and Halma, all appreciating by 1 to 2.5%.
Ocado Group, however, fell by 6%, as the online supermarket and technology group extended its debt maturity to support growth plans. Convatec Group, Entain, and Diageo dropped by 5.8%, 5.4%, and 5.1%, respectively, with Diageo missing full-year profit forecasts. Losses were also seen in Croda International, Anglo American Plc, Lloyds Banking Group, Prudential, Mondi, AstraZeneca, Natwest Group, Rio Tinto, and GSK, all declining by 1.4 to 3.2%. Glencore notably declined, reporting production drops in its main commodities for the first half of the year.
In Germany, Sartorius climbed 3.7%. Deutsche Bank, MTU Aero Engines, Vonovia, Covestro, Hannover Rueck, Munich RE, Commerzbank, Symrise, Rheinmetall, Allianz, Deutsche Boerse, and Deutsche Post all gained between 1 and 2.1%. However, Fresenius Medical Care slumped about 4.5% after the dialysis specialist cut its U.S. market volume outlook. Siemens Healthineers and Henkel fell by 1.3% and 1.25%, respectively, while HeidelbergCement, BASF, SAP, and Mercedes-Benz saw moderate losses.
In France, companies like Safran, Airbus Group, Essilor, Accor, Renault, Teleperformance, Kering, Thales, AXA, Bouygues, Air Liquide, Vinci, Saint-Gobain, Societe Generale, and Eurofins Scientific reported substantial to moderate gains. On the downside, STMicroElectronics and Pernod Ricard both decreased by over 2%, and Schneider Electric, Publicis Groupe, Stellantis, Vivendi, and ArcelorMittal fell by 0.6 to 1%.
Economic data revealed steady growth in the euro area economy for the second quarter, despite an unexpected contraction in Germany. Eurostat's preliminary flash estimate showed a 0.3% increase in GDP for the three months ending June, consistent with first-quarter growth.
The European Commission reported a slight dip in Eurozone economic confidence in July, with the economic sentiment index falling to 95.8 from 95.9 in June, though it remained above the forecast of 95.4.
France's economy outperformed expectations in the second quarter due to robust investment and exports, with GDP rising 0.3% sequentially, surpassing the anticipated 0.2% growth and matching the revised first-quarter growth of 0.3%.
Conversely, Germany's economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter due to weak investment, reversing the first quarter’s 0.2% expansion, as per preliminary data from Destatis. Additionally, Germany experienced an unexpected increase in consumer price inflation in July, with the core figure remaining high above the European Central Bank’s 2% target, casting doubt on prospects of an interest rate cut in September.
