European Markets Jumped As Pound Sinks & Deutsche Bank Recovers

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Tuesday's session solidly in the green, following yesterday's mixed performance. The German DAX returned to action today following a long weekend. Investor concerns over German lender Deutsche Bank continued to ease and the stock recovered some of its recent losses.

The FTSE 100 broke through the 7,000 barrier as the nation's exporters benefitted from a weakening of the pound. The pound sank to a 31-year low versus the dollar following Prime Minister Theresa May's speech to the Conservative party conference on Sunday.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 1.04 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 1.03 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 1.15 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 1.03 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 1.11 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 1.30 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.79 percent.

In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank rose 1.99 percent, recovering further after recent steep losses on speculation that the lender is negotiating a much lower fine than expected with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Volkswagen gained 1.12 percent after the automaker agreed to pay $1.2 billion to its 652 U.S. dealers as compensation for the diesel emissions scandal.

BMW jumped 3.64 percent after Exane BNP Paribas upgraded its rating on the stock to "Outperform."

In Paris, luxury group LVMH advanced 3.03 percent after it agreed to buy a majority stake in German luggage maker Rimowa for 640 million euros.

Peugeot climbed 3.13 percent on a report that it is working on a strategy to make another entry into India under chief executive Carlos Tavares.

In London, Glencore increased 1.16 percent. The miner and commodity trader has launched an offer to buy back up to $1.25 billion debt as part of efforts to strengthen its balance sheet.

Intertek Group surged 5.73 percent after analysts at Jefferies International upgraded their rating on the stock to 'Buy.'

Greggs rose 1.63 percent after reporting a rise in third-quarter sales in line with expectations.

Randgold Resources sank 5.91 percent and Fresnillo dropped 5.64 percent as gold prices fell to their lowest level since June.

ABB increased 1.36 percent in Zurich. The engineering firm announced a new share buyback program of up to $3 billion and said it is shaping and focusing its divisional structure into four divisions.

Eurozone producer prices decreased at a faster-than-expected pace in August, after rising in the previous three months, figures from Eurostat showed Tuesday.

Industrial producer prices fell 0.2 percent month-over-month in August, reversing a 0.3 percent climb in July, which was revised from a 0.1 percent increase reported earlier. That was just above the 0.1 percent drop expected by economists.

Spain's unemployment in September declined at a record annual pace to reach its lowest level in seven years, though the figure increased from the previous month, the Labor Ministry said Tuesday. The number of unemployed rose by 22,801 persons from August. On a year-on-year basis, the jobless figure dropped by 373,745 persons, a record fall.

The U.K. construction sector expanded for the first time since May largely due to a recovery in residential building, data from Markit showed Tuesday. The Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers' Index rose unexpectedly to 52.3 in September from 49.2 in August. The score was expected to fall to 49.