FRANKFURT: European shares ended slightly higher on Tuesday on the back of rising financials and post-earnings gains in L’Oreal, though sentiment remained shaky after US President Donald Trump’s critique of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended 0.2% higher, well off session lows, with L’Oreal jumping 6.3% for its best single-day gain in nearly seven months.
The beauty giant reported a rise in first-quarter sales, beating expectations - a bright spot in the sector after luxury group LVMH reported slower growth at its beauty retailer Sephora last week.
European banks kicked off the week 0.7% higher. The basic resources index - which includes Europe’s biggest mining companies - gained 1.2% on the back of higher metal prices.
However, heightened global trade tensions remained at the heart of investor concerns as they returned from an extended Easter weekend.
The International Monetary Fund slashed its forecasts for growth in the United States, China and most countries, citing the impact of US tariffs now at 100-year highs, and warning that further trade tensions would slow growth further.
Meanwhile, Trump’s repeated criticisms of Powell, urging the central bank to cut interest rates quickly, aggravated fears for the independence of the Fed.
“It’s just a picture of uncertainty out there. Nothing really has changed,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
Back in Europe, the ECB’s Survey of Professional Forecasters indicated euro zone inflation could be a touch higher this year than earlier thought, but will then stabilise at the European Central Bank’s 2% target.
Shares in Swiss insurers Helvetia and Baloise rose 2.6% and 4.7% respectively after they said they plan to merge, creating Switzerland’s second-largest insurance group with a combined market share of about 20%.
On the downside, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk dropped 7.4% to its lowest since October 2022, after trial results from US rival Eli Lilly’s experimental pill for weight loss and blood sugar showed it working just as well as Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster drug Ozempic.
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