European Stocks Close Higher Again

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Thursday, extending recent uptick, thanks to gains in materials and healthcare sectors outweighing losses posted by technology shares.

Easing concerns about policy tightening after recent data from the U.S. and several European countries showing drops in consumer continued to contribute to the positive sentiment in the markets.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.42%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.76%, Germany's DAX gained 0.59% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.79% up, while Switzerland's SMI closed higher by 0.73%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Turkiye closed higher.

Finland, Netherlands, Poland, Russia and Sweden ended weak, while Belgium closed flat.

Technology stocks were mostly lower, weighed down by lower earnings from Netflix, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.

In the UK market, Anglo American Plc shares gained more than 3% after reporting strong production for the second quarter.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals surged 5.75%. Glencore ralllied 4.2%. M&G, Antofagasta, Imperial Brands, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Centrica, Next, Royal Mail, Burberry and British American Tobacco gained 2 to 3.4%.

Pennon ended more than 4% down. Easyjet ended nearly 4% down.

Just Eat Takeaway.com, Scottish Mortgage, RightMove, Entain, Flutter Entertainment, Polymetal International, IAG, Croda International, Natwest Group, Diageo, Carnival and Experian lost 1 to 3.5%.

In the German market, Fresenius climbed nearly 6.5%. Siemens, Allianz, Sartorius, Brenntag, Merck, Munich RE, Bayer, Zalando, Fresenius Medical Care, BASF, Daimler Truck Holding, Deutsche Post, RWE and Commerzbank gained 1 to 2%.

Puma, Infineon, Vonovia, SAP, Adidas, Henkel, Porsche and Siemens Energy ended with sharp to moderate losses.

In Paris, Publicis Groupe gained nearly 2% after reporting results that surpassed expectations and raising guidance.

AXA, Sanofi, Kering, Orange and Engie gained 2 to 3%. TotalEnergies, Safran, Schneider Electric, ArcelorMittal, Air Liquide, Vinci, Carrefour, Thales and Saint Gobain also ended notably higher.

Dassault Systemes, STMicroElectronics, WorldLine, Teleperformance, L'Oreal, Eurofins Scientific and Renault lost 1 to 1.6%.

On the economic front, data from Destatis showed Germany's producer prices increased at the weakest pace in the current sequence of growth started in 2020 amid a continued fall in energy costs.

The producer price index (PPI) edged up 0.1% y-0-y in June, slower than the 1% rise in May. Economists had expected prices to remain flat for the month. On a monthly basis, producer prices decreased at a lower rate of 0.3% in June versus a 1.4% fall in May.

Data from the statistical office INSEE showed the French manufacturing sentiment index came in at its long-term average of 100.0 in July, the same as in June, and in line with economists' expectations. The overall business confidence index stayed stable for the second straight month at 100.0 in July.

A report from the European Central Bank said the euro area posted a surplus of EUR 9 billion in May compared to EUR 4 billion in April. In May 2022, the balance was in EUR 14 billion deficit.

Data from the Federal Customs Administration showed Switzerland's trade surplus rose to CHF 9.92 billion in the second quarter from CHF 8.62 billion in the previous quarter.