European Market Updates

European Markets Remain In Rally Mode On Stimulus Hopes

The majority of the European markets ended Tuesday's session in the green, extending their winning streak to a fourth session. One notable exception was the FTSE of the U.K., which fluctuated between modest gains and losses over the course of the session, ultimately finishing in the red.

Optimism for further stimulus measures from Japan and China had investors in the mood to buy, along with hopes that the Bank of England will lower rates to help the U.K. economy sidestep the pitfalls of the so-called Brexit.

The uncertainty from the 'Brexit' will reduce economic growth of both euro area and the U.K., the economic affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici said after the meeting of Eurozone finance ministers in Brussels late Monday.

He cautioned that the longer the period of uncertainty, the costlier it will be for the region.

Criticism leveled at the Bank of England in the run-up to the EU referendum had been "extraordinary in all senses of the word", Governor Mark Carney said Tuesday.

Before June 23, the bank cautioned Britons about the risk of leaving the EU. Carney had warned that the "Brexit" would spark a technical recession.

"What was in the March record and the July FSR [Financial Stability Report] are the views of the FPC [Financial Policy Committee]", he told lawmakers at the Treasury Committee hearing on Tuesday.

"They are not prejudged, they are not pre-decided. They are based on analysis, robust discussion," Carney added.

The U.K. economic growth was uninspiring in the run-up to the EU Referendum, the British Chambers of Commerce said Tuesday.

According to Quarterly Economic Survey, several key indicators remained static, or at a low ebb just before the referendum.

In the service sector, the main driver of economic growth, posted declines in domestic and overseas sales and manufacturing sales remained at a historically low ebb. The business lobby does not expect official data to show an improvement in the second quarter GDP.

The euro area economy is expected to grow this year driven by consumption, economic forecast jointly published by the French statistical office Insee, Italy's statistical agency Istat and the research institute Ifo showed Tuesday.

Gross domestic product was estimated to increase by 0.3 percent in the second quarter, slightly accelerate to 0.4 percent in the third quarter and then slowdown to 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter.

The agencies forecast the overall growth to be 1.6 percent in 2016. This was faster than the 1.4 percent growth projected in April.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chip stocks increased 1.67 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.97 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 1.33 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 1.57 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.03 percent, but the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.32 percent.

In Frankfurt, Daimler soared 4.73 percent after its second-quarter profit beat market expectations. The automaker also retained its guidance for a small increase in annual profit.

BMW increased 4.94 percent and Volkswagen advanced 3.09 percent.

Deutsche Bank jumped 6.36 percent and Commerzbank added 3.19 percent.

In Paris, Peugeot surged 6.49 percent and Renault rose 4.10 percent.

BNP Paribas leaped 5.15 percent and Societe Generale increased 4.49 percent. Credit Agricole also climbed 4.19 percent.

In London, Shire gained 0.77 percent after winning U.S. approval for its Xiidra eye drops to treat dry-eye disease.

ITV rose 2.69 percent, after it agreed to sell UTV Ireland to Liberty Global's Virgin Media for an undisclosed amount.

Vodafone weakened by 0.98 percent, after Citigroup downgraded its rating on the stock to "Neutral" from "Buy."

Banking giant UniCredit jumped 13.45 percent in Milan, after its board approved the sale of 10 percent stake in financial services company FinecoBank SpA.

DNB plunged 7.57 percent in Oslo, after reporting a 10 percent drop in second-quarter net profit and warning of higher impairments this year.

Euro area house price inflation continued to accelerate in the first quarter, latest data from Eurostat showed Tuesday. The house price index for the 19 countries climbed 3 percent year-on-year following 2.6 percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2015, which was revised from 2.9 percent.

Germany's consumer prices increased for the second straight month in June as initially estimated, latest figures from Destatis showed Tuesday. The consumer price index climbed 0.3 percent year-over-year in June, following a 0.1 percent rise in May.

German wholesale prices continued to drop in June but the pace of decline slowed further, data published by Destatis showed Tuesday. Wholesale prices decreased 1.5 percent year-on-year in June, slower than the 2.3 percent fall seen in May and a 2.7 percent decline posted in April.

Like-for-like sales in the United Kingdom were down 0.5 percent on year in June, the British Retail Consortium said on Tuesday. That follows the 0.5 percent increase in May.

U.S. inventories of wholesale goods saw a modest uptick in the month of May, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday. The report said wholesale inventories inched up by 0.1 percent in May following an upwardly revised 0.7 percent advance in April.

Economists had expected wholesale inventories to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

by RTTNews Staff Writer

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