BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday with investors largely making cautious moves as they digested the latest batch of earnings reports, and kept an eye on the geopolitical front, and awaited progress on U.S. stimulus.
U.S.-China tensions remained on investors' radar after U.S. President Donald Trump said he will ban popular Chinese-owned video app TikTok in the United States unless a tech company such as Microsoft buys it. Meanwhile, the China Daily newspaper said China will not accept U.S. theft of TikTok.
In another development, the editor of a newspaper published by China's ruling Communist Party's People's Daily said that Beijing would retaliate if all Chinese journalists based in the United States are forced to leave the country.
The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.07%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.05% and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.28%, while Germany's DAX declined 0.36% and Switzerland's SMI slid 0.66%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic and Greece closed sharply higher. Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Spain ended with modest gains. Denmark, Ireland, Sweden and Turkey ended weak, while Belgium, Finland and Netherlands closed flat.
On the economic front, preliminary data from Eurostat showed that euro area industrial producer prices increased for the first time in five months in June and at a faster than expected pace, even though economic activity remained damped by the Covid-19 containment measures in most of the countries in the EU.
The producer price index for Eurozone rose 0.7% from May, when it fell 0.6%. Economists had forecast a 0.5% increase.
According to a survey report from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, Switzerland's consumer sentiment recovered from its slump in April after the relaxation of the measures to contain the coronavirus.
The report said, consumer confidence index rose to -12 in July from a historic low of -39.3 in the previous quarter. Nonetheless, the reading was well below its long-term average of -5. Expectations regarding general economic development improved significantly, with the index rising to -16.7 from -78.3.
In the U.K. market, TUI shares soared more than 9%, EasyJet gained 8.75% and IAG moved up 6.6%.
Rolls-Royce Holdings gained about 6.5%. BT Group shares rose 8.4%. BP ended higher by about 6.5% after it posted a record loss and cut its dividend, as widely expected.
Carnival, BAE Systems, Melrose, Hiscox, Whitbread, ITV, Royal Dutch Shell and Meggit gained 3 to 5.2%.
Diageo lost more than 5% after the company reported a bigger-than-expected decline in underlying net sales in the second quarter.
Berkeley Group shares shed about 3.1%, while Hikma Pharmaceutical, Intertek Group, Rentokil Initial and AstraZeneca lost 2.5 to 2.7%.
In France, Renault rallied nearly 7%. Societe Generale gained 5.3% and Unibail Rodamco moved up 4.2%. Accor, Peugeot, Airbus Group, Safran, Publicis Groupe, Total, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole also ended sharply higher.
On the other hand, Dassault Systemes, Sanofi and Worldline ended lower by 2 to 2.75%.
In the German market, Lufthansa surged up 5.25%. BMW gained nearly 3.5%, Dalmier moved up 2.8% and Volkswagen rallied 2.5%.
Infineon Technologies shares ended more than 2.5% up after the company confirmed its revenue guidance for the year after posting an after-tax loss for the third quarter of its fiscal year on higher revenue.
Bayer slipped nearly 2.5% on weak results. The multinational pharma and life sciences company said it expects sales of 43 billion euros to 44 billion euros this year, a range that's 1 billion euros lower than the previous target.
Covestro lost 2.3% and Merck ended nearly 2% down, while Fresenius Medical Care, Wirecard, SAP and Siemens ended lower by 1.3 to 1.7%.
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