European stock markets rose on Tuesday, rebounding from a widespread selloff as investors sought bargains, while increasing interest rates and slower economic growth remain concerns.
By 4:10 AM ET (0810 GMT), the DAX in Germany was up 1.5 percent, the CAC 40 in France was up 1%, and the FTSE 100 in the United Kingdom was up 0.7 percent.
The European markets are struggling to recover. The main regional indices all finished more than 2% down on Monday, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index hitting two-month lows. These losses followed a dismal worldwide trend in which central banks began rapidly raising interest rates to battle inflation, raising worries of a recession.
Bayer (ETR:BAYGN) stock is up 0.2 percent after the German agriculture and pharmaceuticals company took another step toward recovery on Tuesday, reporting strong first quarter earnings thanks to a revived consumer health segment and a crop science business supported by soaring agricultural commodity prices.
Swedish Match (ST:SWMA) shares increased by 25% after the nicotine products business disclosed a buyout attempt from larger U.S. competitor Philip Morris (NYSE:PM), as the Marlboro producer seeks to expand its smoke-free choices.
Renault (EPA:RENA) shares jumped 0.7 percent as the French automaker announced plans to expand its Mobilize car-sharing service and strengthen ties with Chinese automaker Geely Automobile Holdings (HK:0175), which is purchasing a 34% interest in Renault’s Korean branch.
The tone was aided by better-than-expected Italian industrial output statistics for March, which rose 3.0 percent year on year, a little down from the revised 3.4 percent gain observed the previous month.
According to a carefully regarded poll by the British Retail Consortium, retail sales in the United Kingdom dipped 0.3 percent year on year in April, the first drop since January 2021, when the country was under lockdown.
Later in the day, Germany’s carefully regarded ZEW mood index will be released, which is projected to have declined more in April from a number that was already the lowest since the epidemic began in 2020.
Another cause of market anxiety is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin remained mute on plans for an escalation in Ukraine as he commemorated the Soviet Union’s World War II triumph over Nazi Germany, but the violence continues.
Oil prices moved up Tuesday, recovering from the previous session’s losses, as it looked the European Union will soften its stance on a phased Russian oil embargo, as nations most reliant on Russian energy, such as landlocked Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, sought exemptions.
Last week, the European Commission suggested a compromise to eventually prohibit Russian oil, but the idea needed consent from all 27 EU members, which has proven tough thus far.
By 3:10 a.m. ET, US oil futures were 0.5 percent higher at $103.54 per barrel, while Brent futures were 0.3 percent higher at $106.23. On Monday, both benchmarks had their largest daily percentage decrease since March, falling by 5% to 6%.
Furthermore, gold futures were nearly unchanged at $1,858.30/oz, while the EUR/USD was 0.1 percent higher at 1.0568.
