European Stocks Close Broadly Higher

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Tuesday with some of the markets hitting fresh highs, amid continued optimism the Federal Reserve will consider more rate cuts next year. The volume of business was thin in most the markets as traders remained on the sidelines ahead of upcoming Christmas holidays.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.34%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX gained 0.24% and 0.23%, respectively, while France's CAC 40 edged lower by 0.21%. Switzerland's SMI climbed 0.6%.

Among other markets in Europe, Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended higher.

Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Turkiye closed weak, while Belgium, Greece and Netherlands ended flat.

In the UK market, Metlen Energy & Metals surged nearly 7%. Anglo American Plc gained 3% and Antofagasta climbed 2.1%. BT Group, Airtel Africa, Rio Tinto, Pershing Square Holdings and Legal & General gained 1 to 1.6%.

Diageo, Convatec Group, Burberry Group, Easyjet, Diploma, Halma and Compass Group lost 1 to 1.7%.

In Frankfurt, E.ON, RWE, Bayer, Siemens Energy, Deutsche Bank, Heidelberg Materials, Deutsche Boerse, Hannover Rueck and Siemens gained 0.5 to 1.5%.

Zalando, Adidas, Daimler Truck Holding, Brenntag, Volkswagen, Continental and BMW settled lower by 0.5 to 1.4%.

In the French market, Sanofi, Orange, Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, Engie and Airbus closed up by 0.3 to 1%.

Capgemini, Kering, Renault, Pernod Ricard, L'Oreal, EssilorLuxottica, Hermes International and Michelin lost 1 to 2%.

In economic news, Germany's import prices declined for the eighth straight month in November, data from Destatis showed. Import prices logged an annual fall of 1.9% in November, a faster decline than the 1.4% drop observed in October. Prices have been falling since April.

Energy prices had the biggest impact on overall import prices. Energy prices plummeted 15.7% from the last year.

Month-on-month, import prices grew at a pace of 0.5% after a 0.2% gain seen in October, marking the third consecutive monthly increase.

Further, data showed that export price inflation eased to 0.3% in November from 0.5% in October. On a monthly basis, export prices registered a steady growth of 0.2% in November.

Europe's new car registrations increased for the fifth straight month in November, driven by robust growth in battery electric cars sales, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, or ACEA, showed.

Car registrations grew 2.1% year-on-year in November but slower that the 5.8% rise seen in October.

During January to November, new EU car registrations moved up 1.4% from the same period last year. Despite the recent positive momentum, overall volumes remained well below pre-pandemic levels, the lobby said.