European Markets Climb Steadily On Resource Strength

BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (Alliance News) - The European markets rose steadily during the first few hours of Tuesday's session, before settling into a sideways pattern.

The early strength followed the positive performance of the Asian markets overnight.

Mining and energy stocks turned in solid gains Tuesday, thanks to rising commodity prices.

Automakers were also among the top performing stocks of the session.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.5%. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.6%, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major UK companies, added 0.6%.

The DAX of Germany climbed 0.4% and the CAC of France rose 0.8%. The FTSE 100 of the UK gained 0.7% and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.6%.

In Frankfurt, Commerzbank fell 1.4%. The lender swung to a profit in its second quarter but raised its cost target for 2018.

SGL Carbon soared 13% on posting turnaround results for the first half of 2018.

Mail & logistics company Deutsche Post gained 4.1% after confirming its 2020 outlook.

In Paris, Bonduelle sank 6.4% after warning of slower growth in financial 2019.

In London, product testing & certification company Intertek dropped 9.8% after it posted a decline in first-half revenue.

Likewise, financial service company Hargreaves Lansdown tumbled 4.2% after its chief executive officer made some cautious comments on the impact of Brexit and the prevailing political and economic turbulence.

InterContinental Hotels Group fell 3.0% after reporting a drop in first-half pretax profit.

UniCredit jumped 2.9% in Milan after its profit rose in the second quarter on lower operating costs and a decline in write-downs on loans & provisions.

Jeweler Pandora plummeted 24% in Copenhagen after the company trimmed its sales and profit margin guidance for this year.

Germany's exports remained flat amid trade wars and industrial production declined more-than-expected in June, official data showed Tuesday.

Exports registered nil growth in June from May after rising 1.7%, Destatis reported. Economists had forecast a 0.4% drop.

On the other hand, monthly growth in imports accelerated to 1.2% from 0.7% in May. This was much faster than the expected 0.2% rise.

As a result, the trade surplus fell to a seasonally adjusted EUR19.3 billion from EUR20.4 billion in May.

France's foreign trade gap widened in June, as imports grew faster than exports, figures from the Customs Office showed Tuesday. The trade deficit rose to EUR6.25 billion in June from EUR6.02 billion in the previous month.

UK house prices increased at a faster pace in July to hit a record high level, data from the Lloyds bank subsidiary Halifax and IHS Markit showed Tuesday. House prices grew 1.4% month-on-month in July, faster than the 0.9% rise in June. Economists had forecast a marginal 0.2% rise for July.