European markets closed higher on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement and picked up shares amid optimism about global economic recovery.
Markets also benefited from positive reaction to news about EU leaders reaffirming their commitment to support the bloc’s economy and agreeing on the need to keep a budgetary stance in 2021 and in 2022.
The upside remained capped after White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci pointed to Europe as warning to Americans that letting up mitigation measures early could put the U.S. on a similar course.
Investors were also looking ahead to the monetary policy announcements from the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.88%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.8%, Germany’s DAX surged up 0.66% and France’s CAC 40 ended up 0.32%, while Switzerland’s SMI advanced 0.71%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey closed higher.
Belgium, Czech Republic, Norway and Poland ended weak, while Finland closed flat.
In the UK market, British Land Company, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Land Securities, Ocado Group, BT Group, 3I Group, Sainsbury J, Barratt Developments, Morrison Supermarkets, Schrodders and Berkeley Group Holdings gained 2.5 to 4.6%.
AstraZeneca rose sharply after the chief scientist of the World Health Organization recommended that countries continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine for now despite concerns about blood clots in some people who have received it.
Just Eat Takeaway, Royal Dutch Shell, CRH, BP and Antofagasta lost 1 to 2.1%. Natwest Group shares ended weak as the Financial Conduct Authority launched criminal proceedings against the company for allegedly failing to comply with anti-money laundering laws.
In the French market, Unibail Rodamco rallied nearly 5%. Safran gained about 2.5%, while STMicroElectronics, Dassault Systemes, Airbus Group, Air Liquide, Sanofi, Teleperformance, Valeo and Air France-KLM gained 1 to 2%.
Technip slid more than 2.5%. Essilor, Renault, Bouygues, Total, Veolia, Michelin and BNP Paribas also ended notably lower.
In the German market, Volkswagen shares rose nearly 7% after the company expressed confidence that cost cuts will help it improve profit margins in the coming years.
Continental, BMW, Merck, Deutsche Wohnen, MTU Aero Engines, Vonovia, Daimler, Deutsche Post, Linde and Infineon Technologies gained 1 to 3.5%.
On the other hand, RWE declined sharply after the company reported its fiscal 2021 adjusted net income was 1.2 billion euros, above the outlook of 0.85 billion euros to 1.15 billion euros. Thyssenkrupp and Adidas also ended weak.
In economic releases, French consumer prices grew 0.6% annually in February, the same rate as seen in January, final data from the statistical office Insee showed. This was bigger than the 0.4% estimated on February 26.
Month-on-month, consumer prices remained stable after a 0.2% rise in January. The monthly rate was revised from -0.1%.
German economic confidence improved in March, survey data from the ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research showed on Tuesday.
The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment rose 5.4 points to 76.6 points in March. The reading was above economists’ forecast of 74.0. The current economic situation index climbed 6.2 points to -61.0 in March. The expected level was -62.0.
European Markets Close Higher On Recovery Optimism
2021-03-16 18:27:18
