Investing.com – European stock markets traded mostly lower on Tuesday as investors waded through a deluge of data and earnings, although the FTSE broke the general trend, hitting a fresh record high.
In midday trade in Europe, the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 lost 0.11%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.48% while Germany’s DAX 30 traded down 0.13%.
European data released on Tuesday showed mixed readings as the euro zone economic growth went unrevised at 0.5% in the first quarter.
German economic sentiment improved less than expected in May although the index for the euro zone jumped to 35.1 in the same month, handily beating expectations.
In the U.K., inflation increased more than expected in April, although the Office of National Statistics noted that a major contribution was due to increased air fares due to Easter falling later this year.
On the company front, BTG (LON:BTG) sank more than 10% on Tuesday, leading the decliners on the Stoxx 600 as the British healthcare group reported better-than-expected sales, but gave a disappointing outlook for its interventional medicine business.
EasyJet (LON:EZJ) also slumped 5% after the airline reported a bigger-than-expected first half loss.
On the opposite end of the Stoxx 600, Vodafone (LON:VOD) led advancers with gains of around 4% as the British telecom convinced investors to look past its €6 billion ($6.6 billion) loss for its full fiscal year as it showed confidence over its outlook and raised its dividend.
Meanwhile, oil prices ticked higher in European trading on Tuesday, hovering near 3-week highs, as they extended gains of more than 2% in the previous session on news that Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to extend oil output cuts for a further nine months until March 2018.
Energy stocks traded mixed, as French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) gained 0.29%, Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) rose 0.33%, while Norwegian rival Statoil (OL:STL) traded down 0.33%.
Financial stocks traded mostly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) advanced 0.37% and 0.52%, respectively, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and rival Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) gained 0.24% and 0.03%, respectively.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) slipped 0.07% and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) was unchanged, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) rose 0.47% but Banco Santander (MC:SAN) lost 0.18%.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 gained 0.55%.
Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) fell 0.94%, Anglo American (LON:AAL) lost 0.23%, while BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) traded up 0.25% and 0.60%, respectively.
Energy stocks recorded gains, as BP (LON:BP) rose 0.72% and rival Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) traded up 0.71%.
Financial stocks were mostly higher, with shares in HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) up 0.73%, , Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) gaining 0.38%, while Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) and Barclays (LON:BARC) gained 1.11% and 0.81%, respectively.
In the U.S., futures pointed to a flat open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 0.04%, S&P 500 futures edged down 0.04%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures inched up 0.04%.