By Investors Hub
European stocks have moved mostly higher on Tuesday, with renewed optimism over U.S.-China trade relations and expectations that a Brexit deal could be reached this week helping underpin investor sentiment.
The pound held near recent multi-month highs against the euro and dollar after EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that securing a Brexit deal at this week’s EU summit would be difficult but ?still possible.?
According to Irish broadcaster RTE, the United Kingdom will make new Brexit proposals today in a last-ditch bid to secure a Brexit deal.
The German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are up by 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, although the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index has bucked the uptrend and slipped by 0.3 percent.
German cloud and ICT provider QSC has rallied after it reported a sequential rise in third quarter revenue following the sale of its telecommunications subsidiary Plusnet.
Shares of Hays have also jumped after the leading specialist recruitment firm delivered a “solid” third quarter of modest growth.
ASML has also advanced after reports that Samsung will agree to buy high-end lithography machines from the Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer.
On the other hand, Wirecard shares have plunged. According to the Financial Times, the financial services provider appeared to fraudulently inflate sales and profits at businesses in Dubai and Ireland.
British brewer and pub operator Marston has also slumped as it forecast lower annual pretax profits due to a drop in food sales at some of its pubs.
Homebuilder Bellway has also moved sharply lower as it warned of more pronounced pressure on profit margins in its new financial year.
In economic releases, the German ZEW economic sentiment index for October came in at -22.8 as compared to the -27.0 expected. The Euro-zone ZEW economic sentiment indicator for October arrived at -23.5 vs. -33.0 expected.
French consumer price inflation slowed to 0.9 percent in September from 1 percent in August, final data from the statistical office Insee revealed. The rate came in line with expectations.
U.K. unemployment unexpectedly ticked higher in the three months to August, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.
The number of people in work fell by 56,000 to 32.69 million, while the level of unemployment increased by 22,000 to 1.31 million in three months to August. The jobless rate rose to 3.9 percent, while it was expected to remain unchanged at 3.8 percent.
Adedapo Adesanya