European markets closed modestly higher Tuesday, with gold miners gaining ground amid rising bullion prices. Banking shares also finished mostly in the positive terrain.
Data that revealed stability in the euro-zone labor market and an unexpected rise in US consumer confidence underpinned sentiment.
The UK's FTSE 100 added 23.66 points or 0.45% to 5225.22; the German DAX Index gained 12.81 points or 0.21% to 5925.22; and the French CAC 40 edged up 3.78 points or 0.10% to 3490.79.
In the US, the Dow and the S&P 500 are gaining around 0.60% each, and the Nasdaq is trading up 0.30%.
The price of gold climbed to a two-month high above $1250 an ounce, while crude oil for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.16 to $73.54 a barrel.
Among economic releases, unemployment rate in the euro-zone remained unchanged at 10% in July, in line with expectations. The number of unemployed persons was lower by 8,000 compared to the previous month.
In Germany, Europe's biggest economy, unemployment rate remained flat at 7.6% in August, though the number of unemployed persons fell by 17,000.
Inflation in the euro-zone slowed down in August. The region's consumer prices rose 1.6% year-on-year in August, compared to 1.7% in July. The rate of inflation came roughly in line with economists' expectations and remains below the European Central Bank's target of just under 2%.
Italy's retail sales rose 0.3% month-on-month in June, higher than a 0.1% increase economists had anticipated.
In the US, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 53.5 in August from a reading of 51.0 in the previous month, countering consensus forecasts for a decline to 50.0.
Meanwhile, a report from the Institute for Supply Management revealed that the pace of business activity in the Chicago-area slowed down in August. The ISM - Chicago Purchasing Managers Index fell to 56.7 in August from 62.3 in July. Economists had been expecting the barometer to slip to a reading of 57.0.
Among London-listed gold miners, Randgold Resources gained 2.61%, Fresnillo rose 3.21%, Patagonia Gold advanced 4.91% and African Barrick Gold added 1.84%.
Rio Tinto and Vedanta Resources gathered over 2% each.
HSBC Holdings moved up 1.05%. The lender revealed that it sold its US auto finance portfolio to Spanish firm Banco Santander, for about $3.56 billion in cash.
Royal Bank of Scotland added 2.48%, Lloyds Banking Group gained 1.25% and Standard Chartered ended up 0.77%.
Household products maker Reckitt Benckiser gathered 2.35% after the company got approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for manufacturing and marketing of its Suboxone Sublingual film.
Chip maker ARM Holdings advanced 8.58%.
Bunzl moved up 1.28%. The packaging firm reported a pre-tax profit of GBP 100 million for the first half of fiscal 2010, up 6% from last year's GBP 94.6 million.
Afren gathered 1.78%. The oil and gas producer reported a profit of $50.72 million for the first half, reversing a year-ago loss of $38.53 million.
Cairn Energy edged up 0.45%, while BG Group and Tullow Oil shed over 1% each.
InterContinental Hotels lost 2.96% and power producer Aggreko eased 1.25%.
Business outsourcing firm Serco Group dropped 2.51%, safety services firm Intertek gave in 0.88% and credit information provider Experian shed 0.71%.
German automakers cruised higher. BMW gathered 1.23%, Daimler added 0.94% and Volkswagen gained 0.66%.
Chemical firm Bayer rose 2.42% and Deutsche Telekom added 0.92%. Seimens and Adidas also edged higher.
Meanwhile, power producer RWE lost 1.09%. HeidelbergCement and logistics firm Deutsche Post trimmed around 0.70% each.
Retailer Metro gave in 0.75% and fertilizer producer K+S eased 0.57%
In Paris, steel producer Vallourec gained 2.77%, building materials distributor Saint-Gobain moved up 1.93% and beverages company Pernod Ricard added 1.71%.
Media giant Vivendi gathered 1.23% and cosmetics firm Loreal gained 0.95%.
Among lenders, Credit Agricole surrendered 2.35% and Dexia shed 1.02%, while BNP Paribas edged up 0.50%.
Carmakers Peugeot and Renault ended down 0.74% and 0.14% respectively.
Utilities EDF and GDF Suez lost around 1.60% each.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.