European Stocks Close Notably Higher On Encouraging Data, Rate Cut Hopes

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Tuesday with several markets hitting multi-month or multi-year highs, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbing to a fresh all-time high, as investors cheered some positive regional economic data and awaited a slew of earnings and economic updates from the U.S.

Slightly easing worries on the geopolitical front, and optimism about rate cuts from the European Central Bank and a few other central banks in Europe contributed as well to the positive mood in the markets.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.09%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 came off the day's high, but still ended 0.26% up, a fresh record closing high. Germany's DAX surged 1.55% and France's CAC 40 ended up by 0.81%. Switzerland's SMI settled with a gain of 1.25%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden closed notably higher. Finland and Iceland posted marginal gains.

Poland, Russia and Turkiye ended weak, while Norway closed flat.

In the UK market, Associated British Foods soared nearly 9%. The Primark owner lifted its annual profit guidance after reporting a 39% jump in first-half profit.

Ocado Group climbed 5.4%. JD Sports Fashion gained about 4% after it proposed to buy Hibbett in a deal that values the American sporting-goods retailer at $1.08 billion.

St. James's Place, Ashtead Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Marks & Spencer, Flutter Entertainment, Auto Trader Group, Natwest Group and ICG gained 2 to 4%.

Anglo American Plc dropped nealry 2.5% after cutting its diamond production guidance. Smurfit Kappa Group, Antofagasta, Mondi, Croda International, Fresnillo, Smith (DS), Glencore, Rio Tinto, Diageo and BT Group lost 1 to 2.5%.

In the German market, Sartorius rallied 6.7% after the company's peer Danaher reported stronger than expected quarterly sales and earnings.

SAP gained more than 5%. The software maker reaffirmed its outlook for 2024 after Q! cloud revenue increased 24 percent to 3.93 billion euro.

Merck and Munich RE climbed more than 4%. Commerzbank, MTU Aero Engines, Fresenius Medical Care, Porsche, Hannover Rueck, Vonovia and Siemens Healthineers gained 1.7 to 3%.

In the French market, BNP Paribas, Publicis Groupe, Eurofins Scientific, Hermes International, Schneider Electric, STMicro Electronics, AXA, Legrand, Safran, Michelin, Air Liquide, Societe Generale and Bouygues gained 1.5 to 2.5%.

ArcelorMittal and Vinci ended sharply lower.

On the economic front, the euro area private sector expanded the most in nearly a year in April as the continuing downturn in the manufacturing activity was offset the strength in the service sector, flash survey results from S&P Global showed.

The composite output index registered 51.4 in April, up from 50.3 in March. The reading stayed above economists' forecast of 50.8.

Business expectations about the coming twelve months cooled slightly but was the second highest recorded over the past 14 months, the survey showed.

France's private sector activity moved closer to stabilization in April on renewed expansion in the service sector, survey data from S&P Global showed. The flash HCOB composite output index hit an 11-month high of 49.9 from 48.3 in the previous month.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index registered 50.5, which was the highest score in eleven months. The score was forecast to climb to 48.9 from 48.3 in February. By contrast, the manufacturing PMI dropped to a three-month low of 44.9 from 46.2 a month ago. The expected score was 46.9.

Germany's private sector expanded for the first time in ten months in April driven by a solid rise in services activity, survey results from S&P Global showed on Tuesday.

The flash composite output index rose more-than-expected to 50.5 in April from 47.7 in the previous month. The reading was seen at 48.6. The services Purchasing Managers' Index posted a ten-month high reading of 53.3 in April, up from 50.1 in the previous month, while the manufacturing PMI rose modestly to 42.2 in the month from 41.9 a month earlier.

The UK private sector economy grew at the quickest pace in nearly a year in April amid a robust growth in service sector output, flash survey results from S&P Global showed on Tuesday.

The composite output index rose to 54.0 in April from 52.8 in March. The services Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, climbed to 54.9 in April from 53.1 in March. At the same time, the manufacturing sector turned to contraction in April, as the PMI dropped to 48.7 from 50.3 in the previous month.