European Markets Close Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - European markets closed slightly up on Tuesday as investors reacted to a slew of earnings reports, economic data and the updates on coronavirus cases and vaccination rollout.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.12%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.02%, Germany's DAX gained 0.13% and France's CAC 40 moved up 0.36%, while Switzerland's SMI ended 0.53% down.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Turkey closed higher.

Belgium, Poland and Portugal ended weak, while Ireland and Spain closed flat.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it's recommending a pause in the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine over blood clotting concerns. The regulator said there have been six reported cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot after receiving the J&J vaccine and that it is calling for a pause in the vaccine until Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concludes its investigation into these cases.

Data released by the Labor Department showed annual inflation rate in the U.S. jumped to 2.6% in March, from 1.7% in February. Economists had expected inflation rate to come in at 2.7%. Core price inflation rose to 1.6% year-on-year in March, following a 1.3% advance in the previous month.

In the UK market, JD Sports Fashion shares climbed 3% after the company reinstated dividend payments and forecast higher earnings for the current year.

Just Eat Takeaway rose sharply, lifted by an announcement from the company that its first-quarter orders went up by 79%.

In France, Air France - KLM shares declined by about 5% after the company launched a capital increase worth €988 Million valued at €4.84 per share, a discount rate of 8.9% compared to the closing price on Monday.

In Germany, Covestro, Continental, Deutsche Wohnen, Deutsche Post and Fresenius ended notably higher, while Lufthansa, Volkswagen, MTU Aero Engines and Deutsche Telekom ended on a weak note.

Swiss stock Givaudan moved up sharply after the company reported a 3.4% jump in first-quarter sales.

In economic releases, German economic sentiment deteriorated in April, survey results from the ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research showed.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment fell 5.9 points to 70.7 points. This was the first time that the indicator has experienced a drop since November 2020 and was well below economists' forecast of 79.0.

Germany's wholesale price rose for a second straight month and at the fastest pace in four years in March, largely led by higher prices for petroleum products. The wholesale price index rose 4.4% year-on-year, which was the fastest pace since March 2017, when they increased 4.8%, data from Destatis showed.

The U.K. economy expanded in February but at a slower than expected pace, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed.

Gross domestic product grew 0.4%, following a revised 2.2% fall in January. But this was slower than the expected growth of 0.6%. February's GDP was 7.8% below the levels seen in February 2020.

The Bank of France maintained France's GDP growth projections for the current year at 5.5%.