European stocks finished with solid gains Tuesday, breaking a string of losses as concerns about a potential global trade war eased and as investors turned their focus to merger news and other corporate developments.
How markets are moving
The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, +1.21% bulked up 1.2% to end at 367.57, cutting its year-to-date drop to 5.6%. On Monday, the benchmark fell 0.7% and marked a fourth straight decline, as well as a one-year low.
In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 DAX, +1.56% jumped 1.6% to finish at 11,970.83, and in Paris, the CAC 40 index PX1, +0.98% tacked on 1% to 5,115.74. The FTSE 100 index UKX, +1.62% rose 1.6% in London to close at 7,000.14.
In other developments Tuesday, Erkki Liikanen, Finland’s central bank governor and a member of the European Central Bank’s governing council, told CNBC that political risks could pose a potential problem for economic recovery in the eurozone and that could prompt the ECB to extend its €1 trillion asset-purchase program that’s currently expected to wrap up in September.
What strategists are saying
Investors are “beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel after a period which threatened to see a global trade war break out,” said Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG, in a note. “With Trump tweeting of multiple trade discussions going on behind the scenes, there is a feeling that the ultimate resolution will likely be a greater global access for U.S. firms, highlighting why we are seeing an outperformance in U.S. stocks.”
Stock movers
Deutsche Bank shares DBK, +1.14% rose 1.1% following a report by the U.K.’s Times newspaper that the German lender is looking to replace Chief Executive John Cryan less than two years into his tenure. The bank had approached a senior executive at Goldman Sachs in its effort to find a successor to help turn around Deutsche Bank, which posted its third straight annual loss in 2017.
H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB HMB, -5.04% slumped by 5% after the Swedish retailer posted a 44% fall in first-quarter net profit, saying weak sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 and an “unusually” cold winter weather led to a stock imbalance.
Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA. CO, +3.75% moved up 3.8% as the French company behind retailer Monoprix said it is struck a deal with Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -3.78% to bring grocery items from its stores to members of Amazon’s Prime Now program.
GlaxoSmithKline PLC GSK, +4.88% gained 4.9% after the drugmaker agreed to pay $13 billion to Novartis AG NOVN, +2.07% for its 36.5% stake in their consumer health care joint venture. Novartis shares tacked on 2.1%.
Ferguson PLC FERG, +6.70% jumped 6.7% as the building materials company said it plans to pay a $1 billion special dividend, and that its revenue and profit increased in the first half of its 2018 financial year.
