European Shares Extend Gains As German Consumer Sentiment Rises

(RTTNews) - European stocks opened higher on Tuesday amid continued optimism surrounding the delay of U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed 50 percent tariff on EU imports.

There was some cheer on the data front, with the German consumer sentiment index, published by GfK market research institute and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions, rising for a third straight month. The forward-looking index rose by 0.9 points month on month to -19.9 points.

Elsewhere, preliminary data showed French consumer price index rose 0.7 percent on a yearly basis in May, slower than the 0.8 percent stable increase seen in April amid a slowdown in costs for services and a continued fall in energy prices.

This was the lowest inflation rate since February 2021, when prices had risen 0.6 percent.

The pan European STOXX 600 was up half a percent at 553.22 after climbing 1 percent on Monday.

The German DAX added half a percent and France's CAC 40 edged up by 0.2 percent. The U.K. FTSE 100 jumped 0.9 percent as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend.

The euro was under pressure following dovish commentary from ECB policymakers.

Defense stocks were in the spotlight after Trump threatened additional sanctions on Russia.

Automakers BMW, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen were modestly higher despite industry data showing that new car sales fell 1.2 percent in the year-to-date period compared to the previous year.

Sanofi was moving higher in Paris after completing the acquisition of DR-0201, a targeted bispecific myeloid cell engager, from Dren Bio, Inc.

AstraZeneca gained more than 1 percent after its Imfinzi gained EU approval for treating muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Elementis soared 13 percent. The global specialty company has finalized the sale of its Talc business to IMI Fabi S.p.A for $121 million.

Premier Inn owner Whitbread advanced 1.5 percent as it announced Christine Hodgson as the new Chair starting September 1, 2025.