European Stocks Post Modest Gains On Auto Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks pushed higher on Tuesday, trimming weekly losses amid strength in the automotive sector.

European car sales rose 4.3 percent in May, the ninth consecutive monthly gain, suggesting the patchy recovery in the euro zone economy has been gathering steam.

With the European Central Bank announcing stimulus measures earlier in June, analysts expect the region to sustain modest economic growth this year.

Germans remain a bit pessimistic, however. Germany's economic confidence weakened for the sixth successive month to an 18-month low in June, survey data from the Mannheim-based Centre for European Economic Research/ZEW showed Tuesday.

The economic sentiment index fell unexpectedly to 29.8 in June, the lowest score since December 2012, from 33.1 in May. The reading was forecast to rise to 35.

Looking at European stocks, the Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks added 0.39 percent, and is up 5.2 percent year-to-date.

The German DAX gained 0.36 percent and the French CAC 40 rose 0.52 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 inched up 0.14 percent amid tame inflation data.

In Frankfurt, Daimler and Volkswagen were fractionally higher, along with French automaker Renault.

Alstom lost 1.3 percent. German engineering giant Siemens and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Monday jointly offered to acquire Alstom's energy business, in a riposte to a rival $17 billion bid from General Electric (GE).

In London, hospitality firm Whitbread gained 2.3 percent, after issuing a first-quarter update that showed sales growth on higher demand.

Ashtead plunged 6.7 percent after the firm announced higher profit and an increase in debt.

Xaar plummeted 27.8 percent. The digital inkjet printing technology company expects lower revenues for full year 2014, amid decreased contribution from ceramics and slower than expected progress in other applications.

A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S fell 5.3 percent after China blocked a global alliance by the world's three biggest shipping lines.

Actelion shares rose 6.4 percent after the biotechnology company said an experimental heart-and-lung drug met targets in a late-stage study.

Novartis has submitted its meningitis B vaccine Bexsero for adolescents and young people to the U.S. FDA. Shares were down fractionally.

Swisscom AG has sweetened its takeover bid for PubliGroupe Ltd to 214 Swiss francs per share. PubliGroupe's board is urging shareholders to accept the offer.

U.K. inflation eased to the lowest since October 2009 due to a fall in transport and food costs, the Office for National Statistics said.

Inflation fell to 1.5 percent in May from 1.8 percent in April, when it was expected to drop marginally to 1.7 percent. The 1.5 percent was the weakest since October 2009.