European Shares Edge Higher On China Stimulus

(RTTNews) - European stocks rose slightly on Tuesday, as investors waited for trading to resume on Wall Street after Monday's Labour Day recess.

Underlying sentiment was underpinned by China's pledge to make renewed efforts to boost its COVID-hit economy.

Chinese policymakers announced a slew of measures, including increased debt issuances and infrastructure spending to shore up the flagging economy.

China's central bank slashed the amount of foreign-exchange deposits banks need to set aside as reserves for the second time this year in a bid to support tumbling yuan.

Investors shrugged off official data showing that German factory orders declined at a faster pace in July on weak domestic and euro area demand.

Factory orders declined 1.1 percent month-on-month in July, bigger than June's revised 0.3 percent decrease. This was the biggest fall since April, when orders decreased 1.7 percent.

On a yearly basis, factory orders logged a sharp fall of 13.6 percent after easing 9.0 percent in June.

The European Central Bank meets on Thursday, with economists expecting another outsized rate hike to fight soaring inflation. EU energy ministers are set to discuss measures to curb power prices when they hold an emergency meeting on Friday.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rose 0.3 percent to 414.63 after closing 0.6 percent lower on Monday.

The German DAX gained 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent while France's CAC 40 index was marginally higher.

Credit Suisse Group shares rose about 1 percent after the Swiss lender agreed to sell its global trust business.

Energy and services company Centrica jumped nearly 4 percent in London on reports the company is in talks to boost financing.

Industrial equipment rental company Ashtead lost 2.8 percent despite reporting higher Q1 revenue and profits.

Berkeley Group surged 4.7 percent. The housebuilder announced it is "on track" to meet its profit guidance in the year ending next April.

Energy stocks declined as oil prices steadied after a two-day rally. BP Plc and Shell both fell over 2 percent.

French aerospace company Safran was moving higher after saying that it has entered into negotiations with Thales to acquire its aeronautical electrical systems business.

Reuters quoted Russia's Gazprom as saying that the Russian natural gas Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany will not resume shipments until Siemens Energy repairs faulty equipment.

Siemens Energy gained 1.5 percent after denying the report. The company said it had not been asked to do the job.

Volkswagen added 2 percent. The automaker said it would pursue an initial public offering of the preferred shares of sports car brand Porsche AG and list them in Frankfurt at the end of September or beginning of October 2022.