Investing.com - European stock markets rose on Tuesday, despite continued uncertainty over the scope and breadth of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.
The DAX index in Germany climbed 1.1%, the CAC 40 in France also gained 1.1% and the FTSE 100 in the UK rose 0.3%.
Trade tariffs uncertainty
European equity indices started the new week on a positive note after press reports raised hopes for narrower-than-feared U.S. tariffs, but substantial gains are proving hard to find, with investors still uncertain over what comes next.
Weekend reports showed Trump will likely target a group of 15 countries with perceived trade imbalances with the U.S. for his reciprocal tariffs, helping ease some concerns over broad-based tariffs.
However, the U.S. president said Monday that he will impose tariffs on automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and aluminum in the “very near future,” and said duties on lumber and semiconductors will follow down the road.
German Ifo survey
Back in Europe, the economic calendar was pretty sparse, with the German business climate survey for March from the Ifo institute the one major release.
The largest economy in the eurozone has been in the doldrums for some time, but data released on Monday showed that Germany’s private sector grew at the quickest pace in 10 months on hopes that a massive increase in government spending will outweigh any hit from U.S. tariffs.
Shell raises shareholder distribution
In the corporate sector, energy giant Shell (LON:SHEL) increased its shareholder distribution policy to 40%-50% of cash flow from operations from 30%-40% with a focus on share buybacks, and lowered its spending outlook to a $20 billion-$22 billion range through to 2028.
Europe’s largest tour operator Tui (ETR:TUI1n) is aiming to expand its profit margin for its markets and airline unit to over 3% in the medium term, it said ahead of a capital markets day in Madrid.
Crude dips
After edging higher earlier in the session, oil prices are now trading lower on Tuesday, following the previous session’s gains, after the announcement of U.S. tariffs on countries that buy Venezuelan oil.
At 12:45 ET, Brent crude futures is down 0.3% to $72.13 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude has declined 0.5% to $68.75 a barrel.
Both benchmarks gained over 1% in the previous season after President Trump announced a 25% tariff on countries importing oil and gas from Venezuela.
China is Venezuela’s largest buyer, and this move could result in a fairly substantial tightening in the global oil balance.