European Stocks Turn In Positive Performance, Close On Firm Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed on a firm note on Tuesday with investors indulging in some strong buying at several counters as they assessed the impact of China's decision to relax Covid-related restrictions, and reacted to the data showing a drop in Germany's consumer price inflation.

After a firm start and a subsequent fall from higher levels, stocks mostly stayed in a range well above the flat line.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.22%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 1.37%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.8% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.44%, while Switzerland's SMI rallied 2.32%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Russia and Sweden ended with sharp to moderate gains.

Spain edged up marginally. Finland, Norway and Turkiye closed weak, while Portugal settled flat.

In the UK market, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Ocado Group, while Persimmon, Barratt Developments, Prudential, Whitbread and IAG gained 4 to 6%.

Lloyds Banking Group, British Land, Sainsbury (J), CRH, Associated British Foods, Barclays Group, Land Securities, B&M European Value Retail, Taylor Wimpey, Standard Chartered, Berkeley Group Holdings, Halma and AstraZeneca also ended with strong gains.

Centrica tumbled nearly 5%. SSE drifted down 2.8%, while Coca-Cola HBC, Beazley, Glencore, Haleon and Diageo lost 1 to 2%.

In the German market, HelloFresh soared 9.5%. Brenntag rallied 5.7%. Adidas, Covestro, Qiagen, Zalando, Fresenius, Siemens Healthineers, Vonovia, E.ON, Merck and BASF gained 2 to 3.5%.

Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank, HeidelbergCement, MTU Aero Engines, SAP, Munich RE, Daimler and Siemens also ended notably higher.

In Paris, Teleperformance climbed nearly 3.5%. Saint Gobain, Michelin, Vivendi, BNP Paribas, Stellantis, Societe Generale, LVMH, Orange, Hermes International, Credit Agricole, Dassault Systemes and Kering gained 1.3 to 3%.

Thales ended 2.7% down and TotalEnergies ended lower by about 1.2%.

In economic news, Germany's consumer price inflation slowed at a faster than expected pace in December as the rate of increase in energy prices slowed sharply after the government took relief measures to support households and businesses, preliminary data from the statistical office Destatis showed.

The consumer price index rose 8.6% year-on-year following a 10% rise in November. Economists had expected headline inflation to slow to 9.1%.

Official data released earlier today showed Germany's unemployment rate held steady at seasonally adjusted 3% in November. The number of people out of work decreased 6,500 from October to 1.32 million.

UK manufacturing contraction worsened in December as output, new orders, and employment declined at faster rates due to subdued demand conditions both domestically and internationally impacted by price pressures and increased market volatility, final results of the purchasing managers' survey by S&P Global showed.

The S&P Global/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a 31-month low of 45.3 in December from 46.5 in November. The index has remained below the neutral 50.0 mark for five successive months. Nonetheless, the score was above the flash estimate of 44.7.

Elsewhere, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said that inflation was expected to peak at the start of 2023 before retreating.

"We will have a peak at the beginning of the year and then it's going to decline," Borne told Franceinfo radio.