BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks rose on Tuesday to extend gains from the previous session amid signs of slowing coronavirus spread in hot spots and easing lockdown restrictions by some countries and U.S. states.
Markets are also looking to any sort of forward guidance from the U.S. Federal Reserve which issues a policy statement on Wednesday.
The European Central Bank meets on Thursday and it is likely that the central bank will leave its QE program unchanged.
Earlier today, Sweden's central bank kept its repo rate unchanged at zero percent but didn't not rule out a rate cut later to stimulate demand and support inflation in the recovery phase.
The pan European Stoxx 600 rose about 1 percent to 338.64 after climbing 1.8 percent in the previous session. The German DAX, France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were up between 0.8 percent and 1.2 percent.
UBS Group shares surged 5 percent. The Swiss baking giant reported a growth in its profit for the first quarter, driven by strong performances across all businesses, with a double-digit growth in net interest income.
Banco Santander S.A. advanced 1.4 percent. After reporting an 82 percent plunge in first-quarter profits, the Spanish bank said it will continue to review both the development of the crisis and the medium-term strategic objectives once the economic impact of the crisis is clear.
Novartis rose about half a percent after its first quarter sales and profit topped forecasts. The pharmaceutical company said that Covid-19 did not have a material impact on its underlying business, financial condition, cash collections or liquidity during the first quarter.
Sainsbury dropped 1.3 percent, Morrisons edged down slightly and Tesco shed around 0.3 percent after market researcher Kantar said that British grocery sales grew an annual 5.5 percent in the four weeks to April 19. That was significantly lower than March's record growth of 20.6 percent.
HSBC Holdings gave up half a percent after it posted a 48 percent year-over-year plunge in pre-tax profit for the first quarter of 2020.
BP Plc gained half a percent. The oil and gas company reported a first quarter loss to shareholders of $4.365 billion, compared to profit of $2.934 billion, prior year.
Travis Perkins, a distributor of building materials, rose over 3 percent. The company reported that its total first-quarter sales declined 4.6 percent and like-for-like sales fell 3.8 percent.
Games Workshop Group shares surged 11 percent. The manufacturer of miniature war games said its stores would continue to re-open across the world as local restrictions are lifted and all required health and safety measures are met.
The Group also agreed in principle with its bank, Santander, to secure an overdraft facility of 25 million pounds for a six-month period with a potential six-month extension, if required.
Weir Group gained nearly 2 percent. In its interim management statement, the company said it is benefiting from resilience of aftermarket-focused mining businesses, which represents 80 percent of total Group orders.
Capgemini Group shares soared 6.6 percent. The consulting, technology and outsourcing services firm reported a 3.1 percent rise in first-quarter consolidated revenues, despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Technology company Thales dropped 1.5 percent. The Group expects the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the first-quarter sales to be about 200 million euros.
Continental AG gained 1.3 percent. The automotive parts manufacturing company said that its preliminary results for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 are above its prior expectations and current analyst expectations.
Symrise AG, a supplier of fragrances, flavorings and cosmetic active ingredients, fell 1.8 percent after its Q1 revenue missed estimates.
Payment company Wirecard plunged as much as 17 percent. The company said that a KPMG report into its accounting practices wasn't able to obtain all the data it needed to confirm past revenues.
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