European Markets Finished Mostly Lower On China Concerns

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Tuesday's session with mixed results, but there were more markets in the red than in the green. The sharp drop in the Chinese stock market and weakness in commodity prices weighed on investor sentiment. Investors were also cautious ahead of the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting tomorrow. Traders will be watching for any clues as to when the central bank plans to begin raising interest rates. China's Shanghai Composite Index plunged 6.2 percent on the day amid concerns about economic growth. The steep drop came as even as the People's Bank of China set the mid-point of the dollar-yuan exchange rate slightly higher.

The Greek government has relaxed restrictions on sending money abroad by individuals and tuition fee payments by students, reports said Tuesday.

Citing a legislation published by the Finance Ministry late Monday, the Greek daily Kathimerini reported on its website that the government made seven changes to capital controls that included allowing the transfer of EUR 500 a month abroad.

The ceiling on the lump sum amount that parents can send to their children studying abroad to cover tuition fees and other expenses was also raised to EUR 8,000 from EUR 5,000, the report added.

Further, Greeks now can open bank accounts, but only for paying bills and loan repayments.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased by 0.07 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.41 percent.

The DAX of Germany declined by 0.22 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell by 0.27 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. dropped by 0.37 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.07 percent.

In Frankfurt, Wirecard surged by 8.09 percent. The financial services company confirmed its full-year EBITDA outlook after reporting a 27 percent increase in second-quarter earnings after tax.

Fresenius climbed by 1.43 percent and Fresenius Medical Care added 1.35 percent. Merck also finished with a gain of 2.60 percent.

RWE decreased by 3.16 percent and set a record low, after the utility suffered several downgrades. E.ON also lost 1.30 percent.

In Paris, Technip dropped by 2.01 percent and Total also fell by 2.01 percent.

Car parts market Valeo declined by 1.65 percent and Michelin lost 1.13 percent.

In London, Wood Group, which reported a lower profit, rose by 0.35 percent.

Home builder Persimmon fell into negative territory in afternoon trade and finished with a loss of 1.74 percent. The company reported an increased profit for the first half of the year.

Mining stocks were under pressure Tuesday. Concerns over China lead to weakness in metal prices. Antofagasta decreased by 2.09 percent and Anglo American fell by 1.76 percent. Fresnillo dropped by 1.71 percent and BHP Billiton lost 1.85 percent.

The number of persons in employment in Germany increased further in the second quarter, but at a slower pace, preliminary figures from Destatis showed Tuesday.

Total number of employed persons in the country rose 0.4 percent, or by 175,700 persons to 42.8 million in the second quarter from the corresponding period last year. This was lower than the 0.6 percent hike logged in the first quarter.

U.K. consumer prices rose unexpectedly in July on smaller discounts on clothing prices during summer sales, while core inflation reached a five-month high, the Office for National Statistics revealed Tuesday. Consumer prices advanced 0.1 percent in July from last year, while they were expected to remain flat as seen in June.

House price inflation in the United Kingdom accelerated marginally in June, after remaining stable in the previous month, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday. Average house prices rose 5.7 percent year-over-year in June, following a 5.6 percent increase in May, revised down from the 5.7 percent hike estimated earlier.

While the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing that housing starts in the U.S. edged up to a nearly eight-year high in July, the report also showed a sharp drop in building permits.

The report said housing starts inched up by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.206 million in July from the revised June estimate of 1.204 million. Economists had expected housing starts to climb to a rate of 1.180 million from the 1.174 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report said building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, plunged 16.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.119 million in July after jumping to an eight-year high of 1.337 million in June. Building permits had been expected to pull back to a rate of 1.230 million from the 1.343 million originally reported for the previous month, reflecting an 8.4 percent decrease.