Major European Markets Close Higher After Cautious Session

(RTTNews) - The major European markets closed slightly higher on Tuesday with investors largely making cautious moves. China's pledge to make renewed efforts to boost its Covid-hit economy helped underpin sentiment.

Investors shrugged off some disappointing economic data from the region.

Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II today appointed Liz Truss as the United Kingdom's new Prime Minister. Truss, who was elected the new Conservative leader on Monday, was named the country's 58th Prime Minister after she met the Queen at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Chinese policymakers announced a slew of measures, including increased debt issuances and infrastructure spending to shore up the flagging economy.

China's central bank slashed the amount of foreign-exchange deposits banks need to set aside as reserves for the second time this year in a bid to support tumbling yuan.

The European Central Bank meets on Thursday, with economists expecting another outsized rate hike to fight soaring inflation.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.24%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.18% and Germany's DAX surged 0.87%, while France's CAC 40 and Switzerland's SMI gained 0.19% and 0.14%, respectively.

Other markets in Europe ended flat. Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Austria, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Spain ended weak.

In the UK market, Hargreaves Lansdown, Centrica, Lloyds Banking Group, RightMove, Howden Joinery, Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley Group Holdings, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Smith (DS), St. James's Place, Barratt Developments, Haleon, Admiral Group, IAG, Persimmon and JD Sports Fashion gained 3 to 5%.

Ashtead Group, BP, BT Group, Shell, AstraZeneca, B&M European Value Retail, Pershing Square Holdings and National Grid shed 1 to 2.5%.

In Paris, WorldLine surged more than 3% and Faurecia climbed about 2.75%, while Publicis Groupe, Renault, Saint Gobain, Valeo, Legrand, Hermes International, Michelin, AXA, Unibail Rodamco and Kering gained 1 to 2%.

In the German market, HelloFresh rallied 4.5%. Volkswagen surged 3.7% and Daimler gained about 3%.

Zalando, Continental, Deutsche Wohnen, Sartorius, HeidelbergCement, Deutsche Bank, BASF, Linde, Siemens and Symrise gained 1.4 to 3%.

On the economic front, data from Destatis showed German factory orders declined at a faster pace in July on weak domestic and euro area demand. The data said factory orders declined 1.1% month-on-month in July, bigger than June's revised 0.3% decrease. This was the biggest fall since April, when orders decreased 1.7%.

On a yearly basis, factory orders logged a sharp fall of 13.6% after easing 9% in June.

Germany's construction sector contracted for the fifth straight month in August due to a sustained fall in new orders amid high inflation and economic uncertainty, survey results from S&P Global showed Tuesday.

The construction Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 42.6 in August from 43.7 in July. A score below 50.0 indicates contraction.

The index signaled an accelerated rate of decline and one that was the quickest since February 2021.

The UK construction activity shrank for the second successive month as cost pressures and economic uncertainty dampened demand, survey data published by S&P Global showed Tuesday.

The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply construction Purchasing Mangers' Index unexpectedly rose to 49.2 in August from 48.9 in the previous month. The reading was forecast to fall to 48.0.