Major European Markets Close Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed slightly higher on Tuesday with investors weighing comments from central bank officials, and closely following reports about the likelihood of additional stimulus from the Chinese government to boost the nation's economic growth.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.05%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.11% up, Germany's DAX climbed 0.21% and France's CAC 40 surged 0.43%, while Switzerland's SMI ended flat.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Poland ended weak, while Portugal settled flat.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said today that the central bank is committed to attain the 2 percent inflation target.

"Monetary policy currently has only one goal: to return inflation to our 2 percent medium-term target in a timely manner," Lagarde said in a speech at an ECB forum in Sintra, Portugal. "And we are committed to reaching this goal come what may," she added.

Without any material change to the euro area outlook, the bank will continue to increase rates in July, Lagarde reiterated.

Lagarde stated during the ECB Forum that inflation in the Euro Area is persistently high and expected to remain so for an extended period, making it unlikely for the central bank to declare that peak rates have been reached in the near term.

In the UK market, Ocado Group rallied more than 5%. Vodafone Group climbed 3.7% and IAG gained 2.6%.

Standard Chartered, Kingfisher, Informa, Compass Group, Next, Prudential, RightMove and Flutter Entertainment gained 1.4 to 2%.

Fintech company Wise soared 16% after reporting a surge in annual profit in the financial year that ended March 31.

JD Sports Fashion ended 2.7% down after the retailer reported a slowdown in sales growth in May. BT Group closed lower by 3.6%. JD Sports Fashion, Croda International, Persimmon, BP, Coca-Cola HBC and GSK lost 1 to 2.5%.

In the German market, Zalando, Siemens Energy, Commerzbank, Vonovia, Daimler Truck Holding, Deutsche Bank, Munich RE, Siemens, Deutsche Post, Deutsche Telekom and Allianz gained 1 to 2.5%.

Fresenius Medical Care and Sartorius lost more than 5%. Merck ended lower by about 3.5%. Qiagen, Fresenius, Adidas, Volkswagen, Infineon, BMW and Porsche lost 1 to 2.25%.

In Paris, Publicis Groupe rallied about 3.2%. WorldLine surged 2.3%. Renault, Essilor, Credit Agricole, Bouygues, Schneider Electric, Societe Generale and Carrefour gained 1 to 1.6%.

Teleperformance, TotalEnergies, STMicroElectronics, Dassault Systemes, Danone and Capgemini lost 0.5 to 1.6%.

In the Netherlands market, Prosus NV rallied more than 6% after the e-commerce investor and its parent Naspers Ltd. received approval from South African regulators to remove a cross-holding structure.