[BENGALURU] European shares ended slightly higher on Tuesday (Apr 22) on the back of rising financials and post-earnings gains in L’Oreal, though sentiment remained shaky after US President Donald Trump’s critique of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended 0.3 per cent higher, well off session lows, with L’Oreal jumping 6.3 per cent for its best single-day gain in nearly seven months.
The beauty giant reported a rise in first-quarter sales, beating expectations – a bright spot in the sector after luxury group LVMH reported slower growth at its beauty retailer Sephora last week.
European banks kicked off the week 0.7 per cent higher. The basic resources index – which includes Europe’s biggest mining companies – gained 1.2 per cent on the back of higher metal prices.
However, heightened global trade tensions remained at the heart of investor concerns as they returned from an extended Easter weekend.
The International Monetary Fund slashed its forecasts for growth in the United States, China and most countries, citing the impact of US tariffs now at 100-year highs, and warning that further trade tensions would slow growth further.
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Meanwhile, Trump’s repeated criticisms of Powell, urging the central bank to cut interest rates quickly, aggravated fears for the independence of the Fed.
“It’s just a picture of uncertainty out there. Nothing really has changed,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
Back in Europe, the ECB’s Survey of Professional Forecasters indicated euro zone inflation could be a touch higher this year than earlier thought, but will then stabilise at the European Central Bank’s 2 per cent target.
Shares in Swiss insurers Helvetia and Baloise rose 2.6 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively after they said they plan to merge, creating Switzerland’s second-largest insurance group with a combined market share of about 20 per cent.
On the downside, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk dropped 7.4 per cent to its lowest since October 2022, after trial results from US rival Eli Lilly’s experimental pill for weight loss and blood sugar showed it working just as well as Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster drug Ozempic.
The region-wide healthcare index fell 0.6 per cent.
Danish renewables company Orsted fell 4.7 per cent after Barclays cut the company’s stock to “underweight” from “equal weight”.
Sweden’s Getinge lost 5.5 per cent after the medical equipment maker reported quarterly core earnings just below market expectations. REUTERS
