European Stocks Close Mostly Higher After Volatile Session

(RTTNews) - European stocks swung between gains and losses on Tuesday amid conflicting reports on potential U.S.-Iran talks on ending the conflict. Despite some somewhat bright moments in positive territory, a few markets failed to sustain gains as higher oil prices and weak PMI data from Germany, France and the UK weighed on sentiment.

After U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement on Monday about postponement of strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure by five days, Iran said Trump's move was designed to lower energy prices and "buy time" for his military plans.

Oil prices climbed up sharply amid reports of huge explosions in Tehran and other cities, and Iran's denial that it held talks with the U.S. to end the war.

Meanwhile, Israeli Primer Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the country is continuing strikes against Iran and Lebanon continue without p ause.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.43%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.72% and France's CAC 40 closed 0.23% up, while Germany's DAX edged down 0.07%. Switzerland's SMI ended 1.02% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia and Sweden closed on firm note.

Austria, Belgium, Ireland and Spain edged up marginally. Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Poland and Türkiye ended sharply lower.

In the UK market, energy stocks BP and Shell gained 3.5% and 3.15%, respectively, as oil prices moved up sharply.

BT Group gained nearly 3.5%. Convatec Group, Games Workshop, Vodafone Group, 3i Group, GSK, Smiths Group, Airtel Africa, Admiral Group, National Grid, Lion Finance, Associated British Foods, Smiths Group, Mondi, Sainsbury (J) and Croda International also posted strong gains.

Miners Endeavour Mining and Glencore moved up 3.4% and 2.4%, respectively. Rio Tinto gained 1.7%.

Persimmon, JD Sports Fashion, Experian, Kingfisher, Babcock International, Metlen Energy & Metals, Haleon, Berkeley Group Holdings, The Sage Group, Rolls-Royce Group and Segro ended notably lower.

In the German market, Brenntag rallied more than 7%. BASF gained about 4%. Deutsche Telecom climbed nearly 3%, while Siemens Energy, E.ON, Beiersdorf, Fresenius Medical Care, Merck and Porsche Automobil also ended with strong gains.

SAP, Scout24, Bayer, Rheinmetall, Siemens, Adidas and Mercedes-Benz closed with sharp to moderate losses.

In economic news, preliminary data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global UK Composite PMI fell to 51.0 in March 2026, down from 53.7 in February and below expectations of 52.9. This marks the slowest output growth since September 2025, as both services and manufacturing activity weakened.

The S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI eased to 51.4 in March 2026 from 51.7 in February, compared to expectations of a drop to 50.1, while the S&P Global UK Services PMI fell to 51.2 in March of 2026 from 53.9 in the previous month, firmly below market expectations that it would ease to 53 to mark the softest pace of expansion since September of last year.

Data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global Flash Germany PMI Composite PMI fell to 51.9 in March from 53.2 in February, compared to forecasts of 52. Germany's private sector activity fell to its lowest level in three months in March, with the Services PMI coming in at 51.2, down from 53.5 a month earlier. Meanwhile, manufacturing PMI climbed to a four-year high of 53.7 in March, rising from 52.5 in February.

Data from S&P Global showed the S&P Global France Composite PMI fell to 48.3 in March from 49.9 in February, worse than market forecasts of 49.3, according to flash estimates.

The services sector PMI dropped to a five-month low of 48.3 in March from 49.6 in February, while manufacturing output contracted for the first time this year, coming in with a reading of 48.5 for March, sharply down from February's 51.6.

The S&P Global Eurozone Composite PMI declined to 50.5 in March, down from 51.9 in February and below market expectations of 51.0, according to preliminary data.

The S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing PMI rose to 51.4 in March 2026 from 50.8 in February, better than forecasts of 49.4, flash estimates showed. The S&P Global Flash Eurozone Services PMI fell to 50.1 in March 2026 from 51.9 in February, below forecasts of 51.1.