European Shares Struggle For Direction As Lagarde Says Inflation Still High

(RTTNews) - European stocks struggled for direction on Tuesday, even as miners and financials rallied after Chinese Premier Li Qiang said that growth has picked up this quarter and more stimulus was in store.

The euro edged up after European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said today that the central bank is committed to attain the 2 percent inflation target.

"Monetary policy currently has only one goal: to return inflation to our 2 percent medium-term target in a timely manner," Lagarde said in a speech at an ECB forum in Sintra, Portugal.

"And we are committed to reaching this goal come what may."

Without any material change to the euro area outlook, the bank will continue to increase rates in July, Lagarde reiterated.

The pan European STOXX 600 was little changed with a negative bias at 42.24 after closing 0.1 percent lower on Monday.

The German DAX, France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were narrowly mixed, showing little change from Monday's close.

Antofagasta jumped 1.5 percent and BHP rose 1.1 percent as metal prices rose on optimism over Chinese growth.

China-focused insurer Prudential gained nearly 1 percent and HSBC Holdings was up 0.8 percent. Commerzbank climbed 1.2 percent and Lloyds Banking Group added 0.7 percent.

JD Sports Fashion plunged more than 5 percent after the retailer reported a slowdown in sales growth in May.

Fintech company Wise soared 18 percent after reporting a surge in annual profit in the financial year that ended March 31.

Prosus NV jumped 8.3 percent after the e-commerce investor and its parent Naspers Ltd. received approval from South African regulators to remove a cross-holding structure.

Sanofi fell about 1 percent in Paris despite reporting positive results from its phase 2B study of Amlitelimab in adults with moderate-to-severe Atopic Dermatitis.

Automobile Major Porsche Automobil Holding SE declined 1.4 percent. The company has signed a 5-year revolving credit facility of 2.5 billion euros with a view to further strengthening Porsche's liquidity position.