Forexpros – European stocks remained higher on Tuesday, as weak data from the euro zone on Monday added to expectations for further easing measures ahead of this week’s European Central Bank monetary policy meeting.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.59%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.36%, while Germany’s DAX 30 climbed 0.70%.
Data showed on Monday that the final reading of the euro zone’s manufacturing index came in at 45.1 in June, holding steady at its lowest level since June 2009.
Investors were looking ahead to the outcome of the ECB’s monetary policy meeting on Thursday, amid growing expectations for a rate cut.
Meanwhile, dismal data from the U.S. also fuelled speculation that the Federal Reserve may implement a third round of quantitative easing, to shore up growth in the U.S. economy.
Auto makers were broadly higher, as shares in Peugeot climbed 3.07%, after saying on Monday that it will announce a highly anticipated cost-savings plan on July 12, which would reportedly include 8 to 10,000 job cuts, more than twice the amount announced at the end of 2011.
Separately, a report by France’s auto makers’ association, CCFA, showed that demand for Peugeot cars continued to fall in June as the French car market shrank at a slower pace than earlier in the year.
Shares in German companies Volkswagen and BMW rallied 0.92% and 1.31% respectively, while Italy’s Fiat surged 1.98%.
Financial stocks also remained broadly higher, led by Dutch lender ING Group, up 1.78%, and closely followed by Italy’s Unicredit, with shares advancing 1.77%.
Germany’s Deutsche Bank also climbed 1.10%, while French lenders Societe Generale and Credit Agricole rose 0.53% and 0.13% respectively. The National Bank of Greece said earlier that it held talks with Credit Agricole, which was reportedly seeking to sell its Greek subsidiary Emporiki.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 rose 0.36%, boosted by strong gains in mining stocks.
Shares in Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton advanced 2.34% and 134%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys rallied 0.93% and 2.74% respectively.
Oil and gas major Anglo American added to gains, with shares climbing 1.11%, but BP saw shares drop 0.97% as the group faced new demands on Monday to release emails about a failed Arctic oil alliance with Russian company Rosneft that led to a USD12.5 billion shareholder suit.
Elsewhere, financial stocks were mixed. Barclays was one of the session’s top gainers, with shares surging 3.94%, after chief executive Bob Diamond announced his resignation following the Libor scandal that last week saw the bank fined a record amount by U.S. and U.K. regulators.
Meanwhile, Lloyds Banking rose 0.33% and HSBC Holdings added 0.18%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland eased 0.02%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a mixed open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.05% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.14% rise.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on factory orders.
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