European Markets Climbed On Strong German Data

(RTTNews) - The European markets finished solidly in positive territory Tuesday, extending their gains from the previous session. Stronger than expected German economic sentiment data provided a boost to investor sentiment. Rising commodity prices provided a boost to energy and resource stocks.

The negative deposit facility rate is having a positive impact on lending volumes, while exerting a negative effect on banks' net interest income and loan margins, results of a survey by the European Central Bank showed Tuesday.

Banks reported a positive impact on lending volumes, specifically for loans to households, the ECB said in its latest Bank Lending Survey, which was conducted between March 11 and 30 among 141 banks.

They reported a negative impact on their net interest income and loan margins for the last quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of this year.

Further, the survey found that banks have mainly used the additional liquidity related to the ECB's asset purchase programme during the last quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of this year for lending.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 1.60 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 1.47 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 2.27 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 1.32 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.82 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 1.34 percent.

In Frankfurt, Zalando dropped 2.12 percent after it posted slower first-quarter sales growth.

RWE increased 4.55 percent and peer E.ON gained 2.77 percent.

ThyssenKrupp climbed 2.96 percent and Salzgitter added 4.51 percent.

In Paris, L'Oreal advanced 5.02 percent. The cosmetic maker reported a 1.8 percent rise in quarterly sales and said 2016 results would be stronger than the first quarter.

Remy Cointreau soared 8.97 percent. The drinks company reported net sales for fiscal year 2015/16 that rose 8.9 percent from last year.

Dairy giant Danone rose 3.53 percent after its first-quarter sales growth beat expectations on the back of improvements in the U.S. and Europe.

Publicis Groupe rallied 6.69 percent. The advertising and communications company warned of tough times ahead after reporting first-quarter sales that beat analysts' estimates.

In London, Associated British Foods rose 1.97 percent. The owner of Primark lifted its interim dividend after reporting a small rise in half-year profits.

Rio Tinto jumped 2.84 percent, after its iron ore production for the first quarter increased 13 percent.

Experian increased 2.46 percent, after it signed a deal to acquire CSIdentity Corp. for $360 million.

Pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding climbed 1.96 percent in Zurich, after reporting a 5 percent increase in first-quarter sales and confirming its outlook for 2016.

Akzo Nobel gained 5.28 percent in Amsterdam. The paints and coatings maker warned of a challenging market environment after reporting a slight decline in first-quarter sales.

The euro area current account surplus declined in February, the European Central Bank said Tuesday. The current account surplus fell to a seasonally adjusted EUR 19 billion from EUR 27.5 billion in January.

Eurozone construction output decreased in February, after rebounding strongly in the previous month, figures from Eurostat showed Tuesday. Construction output fell a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent month-over-month in February, reversing a 2.4 percent climb in January, which was revised down from a 3.4 percent gain reported earlier.

German economic confidence strengthened for the second straight month to a four-month high in April on easing concerns over China, survey results from the ZEW-Centre for European Economic Research showed Tuesday.

The Indicator of Economic Sentiment rose by a more-than-expected 6.9 points to 11.2 in April, the Mannheim-based think tank said. The reading was forecast to rise to 8.0. This was the highest score seen so far this year.

After reporting a sharp increase in new residential construction in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing that U.S. housing starts pulled back by much more than expected in March.

The report said housing starts tumbled by 8.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.089 million in March after jumping by 6.9 percent to a revised 1.194 million in February.

Economists had expected housing starts to dip by about 0.9 percent to a rate of 1.167 million compared to the 1.178 million originally reported for the previous month.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, also dove by 7.7 percent to a rate of 1.086 million in March from a revised 1.177 million in February. The decrease surprised economists, who had expected building permits to climb 2.8 percent to a rate of 1.200 million from the 1.167 originally reported for the previous month.