BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed notably higher
on Tuesday, lifted by some strong earnings updates, encouraging economic data,
and optimism about interest rate cuts by some major central banks in the second
quarter of the year.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 1.14%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 1.22%,
Germany's DAX advanced 1.4% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.99% up. Switzerland's
SMI ended up by 1.64%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austrial, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands,
Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed with strong gains.

Finland and Norway ended modestly higher, while Iceland, Poland and Russia
closed weak.

In the UK market, DCC, SSE, Barclays Group, Persimmon, Fresnillo, Experian, Weir
Group, Flutter Entertainment and Lloyds Banking gained 3 to 4.5%.

Barratt Developments, Land Securities and Rentokil advanced nearly 3%. Glencore,
JD Sports Fashion, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, RS Group, Severn Trent, Coca-Cola,
Legal & General and Howden Joinery were among the other major gainers in the
market.

EasyJet dropped nearly 6%. Burberry Group and Melrose Industries lost 3.5% and
2.05%, respectively. BP drifted down 1.3% and Smith (DS) ended lower by 1%.

In the German market, Infineon soared nearly 13% despite cutting its revenue
forecast in the current fiscal year.

Zalando gained about 8.5%. The online fashion retailer backed its full-year
guidance after returning to growth in the first quarter.

Covestro climbed about 3.5%. Deutsche Bank, Symrise, E.ON, Commerzbank, RWE,
Bayer, SAP, Continental, Deutsche Boerse, Mercedes-Benz, Munich RE and Vonovia
gained 1.4 to 2.5%.

Fresenius Medical Care tumbled more than 6%. Rheinmetall ended 2.5% down.
Hannover Rueck and Adidas also ended notably lower.

In the French market, Essilor, STMicroElectronics, Pernod Ricard, Societe
Generale, Dassault Systemes and BNP Paribas gained 2 to 3.1%.

Credit Agricole, Edenred, Eurofins Scientific, Legrand, AXA, Capgemini, Airbus
Group, Michelin, Vinci, Danone, LVMH, Air Liquide, Kering and Schneider Electric
also posted strong gains.

WorldLine drifted down more than 3%. ArcelorMittal and Bouygues also ended
sharply lower, with the latter turning weak on disappointing results.

In the Swiss market, banking giant UBS Group AG soared nearly 8% as it returned
to profit after two loss-making quarters.

On the economic front, data from Destatis showed Germany's factory orders
decreased 0.4% on a monthly basis, confounding expectations for an increase of
0.4%. Nonetheless, the pace of decrease slowed from the revised 0.8% drop logged
in February. The statistical office revised the February's rate of change from
+0.2%.

Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone retail sales rebounded 0.8% on a monthly
basis in March, in contrast to the 0.3% fall in February. Economists had
forecast an increase of 0.6%. Year-on-year, retail sales registered a 0.7% rise
after declining 0.5% in February.

Germany's exports rebounded at a faster-than-expected pace in March, rising 0.9%
on a monthly basis, reversing a 1.6% fall in February. At the same time, monthly
increase in imports eased to 0.3% from 3% in the previous month.

As a result, the trade surplus increased to EUR 22.3 billion in March from EUR
21.4 billion in the previous month. The surplus was slightly below economists'
forecast of EUR 22.4 billion.

Germany's construction sector continued to deteriorate sharply at the start of
the second quarter amid ongoing weakness in demand, survey results from S&P
Global showed on Tuesday.

The construction purchasing managers' index dropped to 37.5 in April from 38.3
in March.

Data from the customs office showed France's trade deficit dropped to EUR 5.47
billion in March from EUR 5.61 billion in February. In the same period last
year, the deficit totalled EUR 8.1 billion.

UK house prices rose only marginally in April as rising interest rate
expectations weighed on the property market, showed on Tuesday.

Data published by the mortgage lender Halifax showed house prices in the U.K.
posted a monthly increase of 0.1% in April, which was weaker than the expected
0.2% growth. However, this was in contrast to the 0.9% fall in March.

On a yearly basis, property price growth advanced to 1.1% from 0.4% in the prior
month. Nonetheless, the increase was attributed to the base effect of weaker
price growth around the same time last year.

The British construction sector advanced at the quickest pace in more than a
year in April, largely due to solid rates of growth in the commercial and civil
engineering segments, survey results from S&P Global showed.

The Construction Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, rose to 53.0 in April from
50.2 in March. A reading above 50 suggests expansion in the sector.

New car sales in the UK rose for the twenty-first consecutive month and logged
the best performance for April since 2021, data from the Society of Motor
Manufacturers & Traders, or SMMT, showed Tuesday. New car registrations grew by
1%, the report showed.



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