(RTTNews.com) – The European markets did not venture far from the unchanged level during Tuesday’s session. The markets were stuck in a sideways trend for most of the session and fluctuated between small gains and losses over the course of the day. The majority of the markets ended the day with small gains.
Investors were confronted by a high volume of economic reports from both the Eurozone and the United States. German GDP came in weaker than expected, while Eurozone GDP growth was unchanged from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, German investor confidence reached a 5 month high and U.S. retail sales increased by more than expected.
Energy stocks turned in a strong performance Tuesday, as crude oil prices rebounded on investor hopes for an OPEC agreement on production cuts.
Carney announced on October 31 that he would extend his five-year term by a year till June 30, 2019. Despite the extension, he will serve two years short of the full tenure of eight years that BoE Governors usually have.
“I will leave June 30th 2019,” Carney said at a hearing before the House of Commons Treasury Committee. “I added the year out of a sense of responsibility,” he continued.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.30 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.33 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.22 percent.
The DAX of Germany climbed 0.39 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.62 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.59 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.16 percent.
In Frankfurt, Merck KGaA decreased 2 percent after lifting its profit guidance.
In Paris, Societe Generale rose 0.02 percent after reports that France’s finance ministry has kicked off a process to recoup 2.2 billion euros worth of tax deductions given to the lender after losses caused by rogue trader Jerome Kerviel.
In London, Premier Foods climbed 3.31 percent. The food group expressed confidence about the remainder of the financial year after reporting a drop in sales and earnings in the second quarter.
Asset manager Intermediate Capital Group jumped 5.68 percent. The company proposed to implement a progressive dividend policy after reporting a 2 percent rise in its first-half assets.
British American Tobacco finished up by 0.40 percent. Reynolds American Inc., the second-largest cigarette seller in the U.S., is seeking a higher price from the tobacco giant after rejecting a $ 47 billion buyout offer as too low, the Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
EasyJet increased 5.62 percent. The budget carrier blamed “unprecedented events” for its first fall in annual profit in six years.
Tesco surged 5.56 percent after the retailer saw its sales grew 2.3 percent during the 12 weeks to November 5.
Mobile phone group Vodafone rose 0.09 percent after reporting better-than-expected first-half earnings and confirming its full-year goals.
Smiths Group gained 1.88 percent. The technology company, in its trading update, reported that overall Group performance in the first quarter was in line with management expectations.
Syngenta gained 2 percent in Zurich. The agriculture company announced that MIRAVIS Duo has been approved by Argentina’s regulatory authority for use on soybean for late cycle diseases.
Hennes & Mauritz AB increased 4.77 percent in Stockholm. The retailer reported that its sales in October increased 10 percent including VAT in local currencies compared to the same month 2015.
Eurozone economic growth stabilized in the third quarter, flash estimate from Eurostat revealed Tuesday. Gross domestic product expanded 0.3 percent sequentially in the third quarter, the same pace of growth as seen in the second quarter.
The Eurozone trade surplus increased to a 5-month high in September, data from Eurostat showed Tuesday. The trade surplus increased to a seasonally adjusted EUR 24.9 billion from EUR 23.4 billion in August. This was the highest since April, when the surplus totaled EUR 25.1 billion.
Germany’s economic growth lost some momentum in the third quarter as the improvement in domestic demand was largely offset by weak trade. Gross domestic product grew 0.2 percent sequentially, following second quarter’s 0.4 percent expansion, figures from Destatis revealed Tuesday. Quarterly growth was forecast to ease slightly to 0.3 percent.
German investor confidence rose for a fourth straight month to its highest level in five months during November, partly due to the optimism extended by positive economic data from the U.S. and China, though Donald Trump
winning the U.S. election damped sentiment somewhat, the Centre for European Economic Research or ZEW said Tuesday.
The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany rose to 13.8 points from 3.6 points in October. Economists had forecast a score of 8.1.
France’s inflation held steady as previously estimated in October, final data from the statistical office Insee showed Tuesday. Consumer prices climbed 0.4 percent year-on-year in October, the same pace of growth as seen in September and in line with preliminary estimate.
U.K. inflation eased unexpectedly in October, while factory gate inflation accelerated to more than a four-year high as a weak sterling lifted import prices. Consumer price inflation dropped slightly to 0.9 percent from 1 percent in September, the Office for National Statistics reported Tuesday. Inflation was forecast to rise to 1.1 percent.
House price inflation in the U.K. held steady in September after easing in the previous two months, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday. Average house prices grew 7.7 percent year-over-year in September, the same rate of increase as in August, revised from a 8.4 percent rise previously reported.
Retail sales in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday. The report said retail sales climbed by 0.8 percent in October after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.0 percent in September.
Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.6 percent, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month.
Reflecting a substantial increase in fuel prices, the Labor Department released a report on Tuesday showing a slightly bigger than expected increase in U.S. import prices in the month of October.
The report said import prices rose by 0.5 percent in October after edging up by a revised 0.2 percent in September. Economists had expected prices to increase by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
Additionally, the report said export prices crept up by 0.2 percent in October following a 0.3 percent increase in September. Export prices had been expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.
New York manufacturing activity has stabilized in the month of November, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York revealed in a report on Tuesday. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index climbed to a positive 1.5 in November from a negative 6.8 in October, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity.
Economists had expected the index to rise to a negative 2.3, which would have still indicated a contraction in activity.
Business inventories in the U.S. edged slightly higher in the month of September, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday. The report said business inventories inched up by 0.1 percent in September after rising by 0.2 percent in August. Economists had expected another 0.2 percent increase.
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