European Stocks Rise As Putin Claims Crimea

(RTTNews) - European stocks pushed higher for a second day on Tuesday, as Russian leader Vladimir Putin said he would not seek annex all of Ukraine.

In a speech before lawmakers in Moscow, Putin claimed Crimea as a part of Russia, but signaled he would leave the rest of Ukraine to its own devices.

Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at the Lindsey Group, said, "While Putin said today that he doesn't want to split up Ukraine, which in turn boosted European and U.S. stocks, the next big event is May 25th. That is when Ukrainians go to the polls to elect their next President."

Markets around Europe shot higher as he spoke, with gains most pronounced in France.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks rose 0.78 percent to 3073, further paring last week's big losses.

The German DAX added 0.6 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.5 percent. The French CAC 40 rose 1 percent.

Volkswagen was flat after Swedish automotive firm Scania said its Independent board Committee recommended that shareholders not tender their shares to the German car maker's offer as it did not reflect the long-term fundamental value of the company.

Scania lost 2.4 percent in Stockholm.

Qiagen rose 3.3 percent. The biotechnology firm was upgraded to ''Buy'' from ''Hold'' at Berenberg.

Resolution fell 5.6 percent after its co-founders Clive Cowdery and John Tiner decided not to stand for re-election as non-executive directors of the company at the Annual General Meeting to be held in May.

Antofagasta lost 2.2 percent. The copper producer reported higher annual production.

Sainsbury, which reported fourth-quarter sales decline, rose 1 percent.

Swiss Re added 0.5 percent in Zurich. The insurer is well ahead of schedule on its 2015 financial targets.

Survey data from the Centre for European Economic Research/ZEW revealed economic expectations for Germany worsened in March burdened by the Crimea crisis. The economic confidence index dropped more-than-expected to 46.6 in March from 55.7 in February. The score was forecast to fall to 52.

Meanwhile, preliminary data published by statistical office Eurostat showed that Eurozone's merchandise trade with the rest of the world resulted in a surplus in January, marking an improvement from the deficit recorded a year earlier.

A two-day monetary policy meeting of the Federal Reserve is starting later in the day. Economists expect the central bank to announce another $10 billion cut to its bond-buying program. Fed Chair Janet Yellen will deliver her first press conference after the conclusion of the meeting on Wednesday.