The major European markets closed modestly higher on Tuesday with investors making some selective purchases, amid optimism about a quick economic recovery, and looking ahead to the upcoming monetary policy announcement from the Federal Reserve.
The Fed’s two-day policy meeting, which commences later today, is expected to provide indications about the central bank’s view on inflation, growth outlook and any likely shift in its policy.
It is expected that the Fed could signal that it is beginning to think about scaling back its asset purchases.
The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.11%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX both climbed by 0.36% and CAC 40 gained 0.35%. Switzerland’s SMI moved up 0.47%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey closed weak. Denmark, Iceland and Netherlands moved higher, while Belgium and Portugal ended flat.
In the UK market, Associated British Foods gained 3.25% after a positive first-quarter update from fast fashion retailer Boohoo.
BT Group, Royal Dutch Shell, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, Smiths Group and Ferguson gained 2 to 3%. Johnson Matthey ended nearly 2% up.
British American Tobacco, Just Eat Takeaway, Halma, Vodafone Group, Aviva, Experian, Admiral Group, Burberry Group and Diageo also rose sharply.
On the other hand, Antofagasta, ICP, Anglo American, Fersinillo, Flutter Entertainment, Glencore, British Land, Rio Tinto and BHP Group closed with sharp to moderate losses.
In Germany, Siemens gained more than 2%. MTU Aero Engines climbed by about 1.7%. Thyssenkrupp plunged more than 7%. Volkswagen declined by more than 2%.
Lufthansa shed more than 3%. The airline said it aims to achieve an Adjusted EBIT margin of at least 8% and an Adjusted ROCE, excluding cash of at least 10% in 2024.
In the French market, Air Liquide gained more than 2.5%. Schneider Electric, Legrand, AXA and Michelin also ended with strong gains.
ArcelorMittal, Orange, Publicis Groupe, Technip, Renault and Atos shed 1.5 to 5%.
In economic releases, the euro area trade surplus narrowed to EUR 9.4 billion in April from EUR 18.3 billion in March as exports declined amid rising reports, Eurostat reported. This was the smallest surplus since May 2020.
Germany’s harmonized inflation accelerated for a third month in a row to its highest level in nearly three years and remained above the European Central Bank’s target of ‘below, but close to 2%’ in May, final data from Destatis confirmed.
France’s consumer price inflation accelerated to a 15-month high in May, as initially estimated, final data from the statistical office Insee showed. Consumer price inflation rose to 1.4% from 1.2% in April. A similar higher rate was last reported in February 2020. The rate came in line with the estimate published on May 28.
The U.K. unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points quarterly to 4.7% in three months to April as expected, official data showed earlier today.
The employment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 75.2% as the economy began to reopen.
Market Analysis
Major European Markets Close Modestly Higher
2021-06-15 17:47:07
