European markets closed well

Brussels — European stocks closed on a positive note on Tuesday as the passage of a short-term funding bill late Monday raised the possibility of the longest government shutdown in US history coming to an end soon.

The bill will now be sent to the House, where a vote could come as early as Wednesday.

Hopes of a rate cut by the Bank of England next month after data showed an increase in the nation’s unemployment rate in the third quarter also helped underpin sentiment.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.28%. The UK’s FTSE 100 gained 1.15%, Germany’s DAX closed 0.53% up, and France’s CAC 40 ended with a gain of 1.25%, while Switzerland’s SMI surged 1.98%. Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed higher. Iceland, Portugal, and Turkiye ended weak, while Austria closed flat.

In the UK market, British telecommunications company Vodafone Group soared nearly 8.5%. WPP climbed 5.6%. Berkeley Group Holdings, Haleon, Barratt Redrow, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, GSK, Mondi, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, BP, DCC, Anglo American, Bunzl, Shell, RightMove, Coca-Cola HBC, The Sage Group, and Pearson gained 2% to 3.5%. Marks & Spencer closed down 4.6%. Tesco, Auto Trader Group, 3i Group, Sainsbury (J), BAE Systems, and Associated British Foods lost 1% to 3%.

In the German market, Bayer, Adidas, Merck, Vonovia, Siemens Healthineers, Volkswagen, and Zalando gained 2% to 3.5%. Fresenius, Porsche Automobil Holding, Symrise, Heidelberg Materials, Infineon, Deutsche Telekom, Beiersdorf, and Qiagen also ended notably higher. Continental and Rheinmetall closed lower by 3.3% and 3%, respectively. RWE and Commerzbank also posted notable gains.

In the French market, Stellantis climbed more than 4%. Hermes International surged about 3.5%. Renault, LVMH, Sanofi, TotalEnergies, Saint Gobain, Capgemini, Publicis Groupe, and Kering gained 1.5% to 3%.

German economic confidence weakened moderately in November as investors became concerned about the ability of economic policies to address its key issues, a monthly survey conducted by the think tank ZEW showed Tuesday. The economic sentiment index fell unexpectedly to 38.5 in November from 39.3 in the previous month. The reading was forecast to rise to 41.0. Similarly, the current situation indicator climbed to -78.7 from -80.0 in the prior month. However, the reading was weaker than the forecast of -77.5.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed the UK unemployment rate increased in the third quarter. The ILO jobless rate rose to 5% in the three months to September, which was above the economists’ forecast of 4.9%. The unemployment rate was 4.8% in the three months to August. Data showed that average earnings including bonuses grew 4.8% from the previous year, which was slower than the expected growth of 5%.