European Stocks Close On Firm Note Amid Signs Of De-escalation In Middle East Conflict

(RTTNews) - European stocks ended on a firm note on Tuesday with investors reacting positively to reports that U.S. President Donald Trump is looking to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.

A report from the Wall Street Journal said Trump and his aides assessed that a mission to pry open the Strait of Hormuz would push the conflict beyond his timeline of four to six weeks.

The officials told the Journal that Trump would continue to pressure Tehran diplomatically to resume the free flow of trade through the strait, failing which he would pressure allies to take the lead.

Meanwhile, Iran's state TV reported that the country was "prepared to end" the war if offered security guarantees, citing president Masoud Pezeshkian.

Investors also digested a slew of regional economic data. Firm metal prices triggered some strong buying in the mining sector.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.41%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed up by 0.57%, 0.52% and 0.48%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI ended 0.85% up.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Türkiye closed with sharp to moderate gains.

Finland settled modestly higher, while Netherlands and Russia ended weak.

In the UK market, miners Antofagasta, Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo gained 5.3%, 4.25% and 4.1%, respectively. Anglo American Plc climbed 2.78% and Rio Tinto moved up 2.54%, while Glencore ended 2.2% up.

Metlen Energy & Metals, JD Sports Fashion, 3i Group, BAE Systems, LSEG, AutoTrader Group, RightMove, Rolls-Royce Holding, Kingfisher, Melrose Industries and Entain gained 2%-4%. Bunzl, Weir Group, Marks & Spencer, Associated British Foods, Halma, Diploma, Tesco, Natwest Bank and Rentokil Initial also posted strong gains.

Shares of Domino's Pizza Group moved up sharply after the company officially appointed interim chief executive Nicola Frampton as its permanent CEO.

Unilever closed 7.3% after Unilever and McCormick entered into a deal as per which McCormick will merge its operations with Unilever's food business. The deal values the combined entity at about $65 billion.

IMI drifted down 2.4%, while Croda International, Diageo, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Convatec Group and Imperial Brands lost 1%-2%.

In the German market, MTU Aero Engines climbed nearly 4%. Adidas, Deutsche Boerse, Rheinmetall, RWE, Commerzbank, Infineon, Mercedes-Benz, Zalando, Gea Group, Scout24 and Daimler Truck Holding also ended notably higher.

Symrise, BASF, Deutsche Telekom, Fresenius Medical Care, Heidelberg Materials and Fresenius ended weak.

In the French market, Edenred rallied more than 5%. Teleperformance gained about 3.3%, while Capgemini, Thales, Dassault Systemes, Renault, Safran, Carrefour, ArcelorMittal, Vinci, Legrand, Accor, Stellantis, Publicis Groupe, Airbus, AXA and Saint-Gobain gained 1%-3%.

Sanofi gained about 1% after receiving conditional marketing authorization for Rezurock from the European Commission.

Bureau Veritas and Pernod Record declined sharply. Hermes International, Engie and L'Oreal also closed weak.

In economic news, German unemployment remained unchanged in March, highlighting the resilience of the country's job market, data from the Federal Employment Agency showed.

The unemployment rate in Germany remained unchanged at 6.3% in March and matched expectations. The number of people out of work also remained at the same level as in February, at 2.977 million, data showed.

Data from Destatis showed retail sales in Germany decreased 0.6% on a monthly basis in February but slower than the 1.1% fall seen in January. Sales were expected to grow 0.3%.

On a yearly basis, retail sales growth slowed to 0.7% from 1% in January. Economists had forecast sales to grow at a steady pace of 1%.

A separate data from Destatis showed Germany's import prices dropped 2.3% year-on-year in February, the same rate of decrease as seen in January. The 2.3% fall was the biggest since March 2024.

On a monthly basis, import prices grew at a slower pace of 0.3% after rising 1.1% in January.

Further, data showed that export prices edged down 0.1% from a year ago, in contrast to the 0.2% rise in January. Month-on-month, export prices rose 0.1% following January's 0.9% increase.

Data from INSEE said the annual inflation rate in France jumped to 1.7% in March 2026, its highest level since January 2025, up from 0.9% in February and slightly above expectations of 1.6%, according to preliminary estimates.

Compared to the previous month, the CPI went up 0.9%, the most since February 2024. Meanwhile, the EU-harmonised CPI increased 1.9% on the year, the highest reading since August 2024, and 1.1% on the month, the biggest jump since August 2023.

A separate data from INSEE showed French domestic producer prices fell by 0.2% month-on-month in February, reversing a 0.5% increase in January and in line with expectations. On an annual basis, domestic producer prices extended their decline, falling 2.4% in February after a 2.3% drop in January.

Data from Eurostat showed euro area annual inflation climbed to 2.5% in March 2026, up from 1.9% in February and slightly below market expectations of 2.6%, according to a preliminary estimate.

Final data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK's fourth-quarter gross domestic product grew 0.1% from the prior quarter, which was unrevised from the previous estimate and followed similar growth in the third quarter.

The statistical office also revised up economic growth for 2025 to 1.4% from 1.3%. The economy had expanded 1.1% in 2024.

UK house prices increased at a faster pace in March suggesting that the housing market regained some momentum, data from the Nationwide Building Society showe.

The annual growth in house prices rose to 2.2% in March from 1% in February. On a monthly basis, house prices moved up 0.9%, much faster than the 0.3% increase seen in February.