BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European markets fluctuated between small gains and losses in early trade Tuesday, but definitively entered positive territory in the afternoon. Concerns over the ability of the Trump administration to implement its policies began to ease following the failure of the healthcare reform bill late last week.
Investors have begun to shift their attention to the start of the Brexit process. UK Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to trigger Article 50 on Wednesday. The government will deliver a letter to the European council president Donald Tusk, the mechanism for starting the Brexit process.
Spain's economic growth could exceed 2.5 percent for the next two to four years amid faster job creation, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said Tuesday. The country's unemployment rate would be below 17 percent this year versus 17.6 percent forecast earlier, as more than 500,000 jobs would be created, the minister said.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.60 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.81 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.58 percent.
The DAX of Germany climbed 1.28 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.57 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.68 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.03 percent.
In Frankfurt, Evotec jumped 8.12 percent after reporting its fiscal 2016 results. The company said it expects significant improvement in core profit in 2017.
Wirecard gained 2.67 percent after the company said it had acquired all shares of payment service provider MyGate Communications (Pty) based in Cape Town, South Africa.
In London, Wolseley surged 5.06 percent. The plumbing and heating supplier announced a rebranding alongside plans to exit its struggling Nordic business after reporting a fall in interim net profit.
Homebuilder Redrow advanced 3.20 percent after withdrawing its takeover offer for rival Bovis.
Tesco rose 0.66 percent after two of its biggest shareholders urged the supermarket to withdraw a £3.7bn bid for wholesaler Booker.
Tour operator Thomas Cook lost 3.86 percent after reiterating its FY underlying EBIT guidance.
Aviva increased 1.91 percent after reports that it is looking to sell its Friends Provident International unit in a deal that could fetch up to $750 million.
Dufry climbed 3.52 percent in Zurich on a Wall Street Journal report that Chinese conglomerate HNA Group is seeking to buy a stake in the airport retailer.
Ericsson fell 2.62 percent in Stockholm after saying it would book up to $1.7 billion in provisions, writedowns and restructuring costs in the first quarter.
Germany's public debt declined in the fourth quarter, data from Destatis showed Tuesday.
The debt owed by the overall public budget to the non-public sector totaled EUR 2,006.5 billion at the end of the fourth quarter. Based on provisional results, debt declined by 0.8 percent, or EUR 16.1 billion from the end of 2015.
Consumer confidence in the U.S. unexpectedly improved in the month of March, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index jumped to 125.6 in March from a revised 116.1 in February.
The increase surprised economists, who had expected the index to dip to 113.8 from the 114.8 originally reported for the previous month.
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