European stocks close higher despite weak German data; DAX up 0.01%

Investing.com - European stocks closed higher Tuesday, despite the release of weak German economic sentiment data, while concerns over the handling of Greece's financial crisis continued to weigh. 

At the close of European  trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.79%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.56%, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased higher 0.01%. 

The ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiment fell to minus 15.7 in November from October’s reading of minus 11.5. Analysts had expected the index come in at minus 9.8 this month. 

On Monday, euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund failed to agree on a long-term plan to reduce Greece's debt, preventing the disbursement of immediate aid to Athens. 

They gave Greece until 2016 to cut the deficit to 2% of gross domestic product, but put off until November 20 a decision on how to cover additional Greek needs of as much as EUR32.6 billion and left unclear whether the IMF will continue to contribute. 

German power and gas giant E.ON AG saw shares sink 11.42%, extending earlier losses, after announcing that it swung to a net loss in the third quarter of 2012. 

The company said it recorded significant impairment charges on thermal power plants across Europe because of rock-bottom wholesale electricity prices and muted energy demand. 

Financial stocks turned broadly higher on the other hand, leb by Italian lenders Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit, surging 3.02% and 1.96% respectively, and closely followed by Spain's BBVA and Banco Santander, up 1% and 0.68%. 

Also on the upside, French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale added 0.03% and 0.08%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank climbed 0.54%. 

In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slid 0.49%, weighed by losses in oil and mining stocks, while data showed that consumer price inflation in the U.K. rose more-than-expected in October. 

Eurasian Natural Resources remained sharply lower, with shares tumbling 1.28%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys dropped 0.75% and 1.35%. 

Oil and gas major Anglo American added to losses, as shares plunged 3.12%, while rival BP retreated 0.77%. 

U.K. lenders remained mostly lower, with shares in HSBC Holdings falling 0.15% and the Royal Bank of Scotland dropping 0.62%, while Barclays tumbled 1.17%. Lloyds Banking overperformed on the other hand, climbing 0.78%. 

Elsewhere, Vodafone saw shares plummet 4.44% after the company reported service revenue that missed estimates and a GBP5.9 billion writedown in Spain and Italy that sank the world’s second-largest mobile-phone company into a first-half net loss. 

In the U.S., equity markets traded mixed midsession with the Dow Jones up 0.34%, the S&P 500 higher by 0.50%, and the tech heavy Nasdaq down 0.06% 

Traders are awaiting the U.S. retail sales and the Bank of England’s inflation report.

Get The News You Want

Read market moving news with a personalized feed of stocks you care about.

Get The App