FX.co ★ European Stocks Close Broadly Higher

European stocks experienced an uptick on Tuesday, rebounding from recent declines as investors processed corporate updates and anticipated forthcoming economic data from the U.S. and Europe.

The dollar strengthened slightly, and Treasury yields remained steady as market participants awaited additional U.S. economic data, including May's retail sales figures, along with remarks from several Federal Reserve officials to better understand the Fed's monetary policy direction.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose by 0.69%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 increased by 0.6%, Germany's DAX advanced by 0.35%, France's CAC 40 went up by 0.76%, while Switzerland's SMI closed higher by 0.3%.

In other European markets, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden all ended higher. However, stock markets in Iceland and Poland finished weaker.

In the U.K. market, Hargreaves Lansdown surged by approximately 5.3% after the company received a non-binding proposal from a CVC Capital-led consortium at GBP 1.14 per share, slightly above the closing price of GBP 1.13.

Other notable gainers in the U.K. included RS Group, SSE, Bunzl, St. James's Place, DCC, Informa, National Grid, Schroders, and Croda International, which rose between 2% and 4%.

Whitbread advanced nearly 2% after the British hotel group reiterated its annual forecast, despite reporting flat first-quarter sales.

Additional gainers in the U.K. market were Spirax Group, BT Group, Ocado Group, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Marks & Spencer, Intertek Group, Intercontinental Hotels Group, and Rentokil Initial, each increasing by 1.5% to 2%.

On the downside, JD Sports Fashion Group and Ashtead Group fell by 2.2% and 2%, respectively, while Persimmon, Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey, Reckitt Benckiser, and Diageo declined between 0.6% and 1.25%.

In Germany, Deutsche Boerse, Qiagen, Siemens Energy, Commerzbank, Symrise, Hannover Rueck, Sartorius, RWE, Rheinmetall, Munich RE, and Deutsche Telekom posted gains of 1% to 2%.

Beiersdorf plunged approximately 2.8%, while Fresenius decreased by 2.6%, and Continental dropped nearly 2%. Puma, Fresenius Medical Care, and Merck also saw losses ranging from 1% to 2%.

In the French market, Teleperformance jumped by about 3.5%. Schneider Electric rose over 2% after Jefferies upgraded the stock's rating from "hold" to "buy".

Other French market gainers included Unibail-Rodamco, Vivendi, Veolia, Vinci, Kering, Saint-Gobain, AXA, Edenred, Accor, Airbus Group, Renault, Safran, TotalEnergies, Dassault Systemes, Eurofins Scientific, Legrand, Michelin, ArcelorMittal, and Air Liquide, with increases between 1% and 3%.

Conversely, Carrefour dropped more than 4% following reports of a significant fine proposed by the finance ministry for the supermarket group's franchise network management. Both L'Oreal and LVMH also ended notably lower.

On the economic front, Eurostat data revealed that eurozone inflation picked up in May as initially estimated, primarily driven by services costs. The harmonized index of consumer prices rose by 2.6% annually, up from a 2.4% rise in April, meeting the estimate published on May 31, and moving away from the European Central Bank's 2% target.

German economic confidence showed only marginal improvement in June, according to survey data from the ZEW economic research institute. The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment inched up to 47.5 in June from 47.1 in the previous month, still falling short of the forecast of 50.0. The assessment of the current situation deteriorated, with the index declining to -73.8 from -72.3 last month.