European Stock Markets Find Traction On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The major European stocks closed on a firm note Tuesday after the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian state media outlet Press TV confirmed a ceasefire had begun.

While both sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, traders remained optimistic about easing tensions in the Middle East.

Also, traders largely shrugged off comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicating the central bank will remain on hold despite pressure from Trump to lower interest rates.

Germany's DAX jumped 372.57 points or 1.60 percent to finish at 23,641.58, while the FTSE in London perked 0.95 points or 0.01 percent to close at 8,758.99 and the CAC 40 in France climbed 78.42 points or 1.04 percent to end at 7,615.99.

In Germany, Heidelberg Materials skyrocketed 6.07 percent, while Deutsche Bank soared 5.34 percent, Volkswagen spiked 3.56 percent, Daimler Truck Holding accelerated 3.52 percent, Deutsche Telekom advanced 2.17 percent, Deutsche Post sank 2.16 percent, E.ON sank 0.79 percent, Deutsche Borse lost 0.40 percent and Vonovia eased 0.17 percent.

In London, easyJet soared 6.40 percent, while BAE Systems plunged 4.20 percent, Rolls-Royce Holdings raliied 2.55 percent, Airtel Africa spiked 2.10 percent, Scottish Mortgage jumped 2.05 percent, Prudential improved 1.63 percent, British American Tobacco slumped 1.11 percent, Vodafone climbed 1.08 percent, Rightmove added 0.77 percent and Experian fell 0.29 percent.

In France, Accor surged 6.26 percent, while Worldline rallied 5.01 percent, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain spiked 4.42 percent, BNP Paribas jumped 3.15 percent, Societe Generale collected 2.11 percent, Credit Agricole gained 2.10 percent and Vinci rose 1.65 percent.

In economic news, German business morale improved more than expected in June amid improvement in companies' future prospects, a survey showed. The Ifo institute's business climate index rose to 88.4 from 87.5 in May.

UK manufacturers continued to register decline in new orders in June and output logged a steady pace of sharp decline, survey data from the Confederation of British Industry showed on Tuesday.

The total order books balance fell to -33 percent in June from -30 percent in May, the latest monthly Industrial Trends Survey showed. At the same time, export orders dropped at slower pace with the indicator rising to -26 percent from -29 percent.

The Dutch economy expanded more than initially estimated in the first quarter of 2025, the latest data from the Central Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday. Gross domestic product rose 0.4 percent sequentially in the first quarter, following an upwardly revised 0.5 percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2024. In the flash estimate, the rate of increase for the March quarter was only 0.1 percent.