European shares edged higher in a choppy day of trading on Tuesday, as investors shifted their focus to quarterly earnings reports from companies such as UBS, BNP Paribas and Ferrari among others, while caution prevailed about potential US tariffs.
The Stoxx index had posted its steepest daily decline so far this year on Monday after US president Donald Trump said he would announce tariffs on top trade partners and impose surcharges on imports from the EU soon. Trump then agreed to a 30-day pause before implementing 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico and Canada. However, China announced tariffs on some US imports, starting from February 10th, in retaliation for Washington’s 10 per cent additional levies on Beijing.
Dublin
The Iseq climbed 1.1 per cent, recovering much of the ground lost on Monday when investors were spooked by Trump’s threat of tariffs.
AIB and Bank of Ireland, two of the key fallers in the previous session, both made gains, with AI rising 3.3 per cent to €5.73 and Bank of Ireland up almost 3 per cent at €9.57. Kingspan also clawed back most of Monday’s losses, adding 2.2 per cent to finish at €66.55.
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But the Iseq was kept in check by Ryanair, which ended 0.3 per cent lower at €20.30, while food group Kerry declined by the same percentage to finish at €97.85.
London
British stocks fell for a second straight day but the indexes ended well off their lows after Trump said he would speak with Chinese president Xi Jinping, sparking hopes of a de-escalation in the trade war.
The FTSE 100 ended 0.1 per cent lower after falling as much as 0.7 per cent, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 also ended down 0.1 per cent.
Energy stocks staged a turnaround, rising 0.8 per cent as oil prices turned positive after Trump’s top trade adviser Peter Navarro told a Politico Live event that Trump was set to speak with Xi later on Tuesday.
Shares of Vodafone fell most steeply on the benchmark index after the mobile group reported another deterioration in Germany, its biggest market, in the third quarter.
Diageo fell 1.6 per cent after the world’s top spirits maker withdrew its medium-term organic sales growth target as it took steps to try and mitigate the impact of US tariffs on its tequila and Canadian whisky.
Europe
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up 0.3 per cent. Automobiles led sectoral gains, with sports car maker Ferrari up 8 per cent after it said its revenue and core earnings would rise by at least 5 per cent this year.
The financial services sector dropped 1 per cent, dragged down by a 7 per cent fall in UBS Group after chief executive Sergio Ermotti said higher capital requirements in Switzerland would hurt shareholder returns. The Swiss lender had posted an upbeat fourth-quarter profit.
Embracer shares sank 41.5 per cent ahead of the Swedish gaming group’s spin-off by tabletop game publisher Asmodee.
German chipmaker Infineon rose 10.4 per cent after beating first-quarter revenue estimates and slightly raising its full-year revenue outlook.
France’s BNP Paribas rose 4.2 per cent after a forecast-beating jump in net income in the fourth quarter, aiding the banking sector’s 1.6 per cent rise.
US
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained in early trading as mega-cap stocks stabilised despite ongoing market volatility following China’s counter tariffs in response to new US trade restrictions.
Alphabet rose 1.8 per cent ahead of its quarterly results, which are due after markets close, while Nvidia advanced 2.8 per cent.
Biotechnology firm Illumina dropped 4.3 per cent, while PVH Corp, the holding company for brands including Calvin Klein, shed 0.8 per cent after China placed the companies in its “unreliable entity list”.
Additional reporting: Reuters
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