FX.co ★ European Stocks Inch Higher

European equities ended slightly higher on Tuesday, building on the strong rally from the previous session, supported by gains in technology and consumer staples. The Euro STOXX 50 advanced 0.2% to 6,332, while the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.3% to 643.6.

AI-related stocks moved sharply higher, mirroring the rally in North America after upbeat reviews of Meta’s Muse AI agent reignited long positions in e‑commerce and AI infrastructure. On the hardware side, ASML, Infineon, and Siemens Energy climbed as much as 2.5%. Prosus jumped 4.6% amid improving sentiment toward digital applications, and Inditex gained 3% following broker recommendation upgrades.

By contrast, banks and insurers surrendered part of Monday’s gains as Eurozone sovereign yields rebounded, in step with an afternoon spike in natural gas prices after escalatory remarks from US President Trump concerning Tehran. Allianz slipped 3.4%, AXA lost 2%, and ING and Deutsche Bank both declined by about 1.5%.