European Stocks Pare Early Gains, Close On Mixed Note

European stocks ended on a mixed note on Tuesday after a volatile session, as investors continued to assess the global economic situation, particularly the current scenario in the U.S., and China, in addition to digesting quarterly earnings updates and following the developments on the geopolitical front.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended up 0.29%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.23% and Germany’s DAX edged down 0.09%, and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.27%. Switzerland’s SMI ended down 0.28%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway and Russia ended higher.

Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak.

In the UK market, Melrose Industries, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Scottish Mortgage climbed 6.6%, 5.6% and 5%, respectively.

JD Sports Fashion, Smith (DS), ICG, Mondi, 3i Group, Centrica, Coca-Cola HBC, Vodafone Group, WPP, Whitbread, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and Berkeley Group Holdings gained 1 to 3%.

RightMove and Endeavour Mining are down 4.3% and 4%, respectively. Fresnillo, Entain, Burberry Group, Informa, Croda International, Intertek Group, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, GSK, Vistry Group, Howden Joinery, Prudential, Beazley, Convatec Group and Hargreaves Lansdown lost 1 to 3.2%.

In the German market, Siemens Energy gained about 3.3%. Rheinmetall, SAP, Continental, Covestro and MTU Aero Engines climbed 1.5 to 2.5%.

Bayer dropped about 6% on weak second quarter results. Zalando, Fresenius Medical Care, Porsche, Brenntag, Deutsche Boerse, HeidelbergCement, Puma, Siemens Healthineers and Vonovia lost 1 to 2%.

In the French market, ArcelorMittal rallied 2.5%. Airbus, Publicis Groupe and Accor gained 2%, 1.7% and 1.3%, respectively. Unibail Rodamco advanced nearly 1%.

Teleperformance dropped nearly 3%. Kering ended 2.6% down. Carrefour, Edenred, Michelin, Legrand, BNP Paribas, Pernod Ricard, Stellantis and Air Liquide lost 1 to 1.6%.

In economic news, Germany’s factory orders rebounded in June, increasing by more-than-expected 3.9% on a monthly basis, in contrast to the revised 1.7% decrease in May, data from Destatis showed.

Germany’s construction sector continued to remain deep in the contraction zone in July, survey results from S&P Global showed. The HCOB construction Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to an 11-month high of 40.0 in July from 39.7 in June. The score suggested that the decline in activity was the slowest since last August.

Eurozone retail sales fell more than expected in June as both food and non-food products turnover decreased from the prior month, official data revealed. Retail sales decreased 0.3% month-on-month in June, in contrast to the 0.1% rise in May, Eurostat said. Economists had forecast a marginal 0.1% drop for June.

France’s private payroll employment remained flat in the second quarter, flash estimate released by the statistical office INSEE showed. At the end of June, private payroll employment was unchanged or down 7,900 sequentially. This follows an increase of 0.3% or 61,100 jobs in the first quarter. Private payroll employment exceeded the second quarter of 2023 level by 0.4% or 78,000.

The UK construction sector expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years in July as election-related slowdown proved to be temporary, survey results from S&P Global showed.

The headline S&P Global construction Purchasing Managers’ Index rose unexpectedly to 55.3 in July from 52.2 in June. The reading was forecast to fall to 51.0.

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