European bourses tracked moderately higher midday Tuesday as bond yields and oil prices cooled from recent gains. Bank and tech stocks led gainers, while oil issues lagged. Investors also eyed Wall Street futures signaling green but choppy closes overnight on Asian exchanges. Tokyo fell back due to the prospects for rate hikes by the Bank of Japan, but Hong Kong and Shanghai gained after Beijing vowed more support for equities markets. In the automotive sector, German automaker Volkswagen reported a 2.3% decline in 2024 global sales, totaling 9.03 million units.
The biggest drops were recorded in China, with a year-on-year decrease of 9.5%, and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, which saw a significant drop of 17.5% year on year. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 0.6% mid-session, demonstrating a positive market sentiment. Additionally, the Stoxx Europe 600 Technology Index climbed 1.3%, while the Stoxx 600 Banks Index gained 1.1%.
Contrarily, the Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas Index showed a decrease of 0.7%, but the Stoxx 600 Europe Food and Beverage Index inclined slightly by 0.4%. The REITE, a European REIT index, rose by 0.6%, although the Stoxx Europe 600 Retail Index remained flat throughout the trading session. On a more localized level, Germany's DAX saw an increase of 0.8%, and the FTSE 100 in London was up 0.1%.
The CAC 40 in Paris had a notable rise of 1.7%, while Spain's IBEX 35 gained 0.7%. Yields on benchmark 10-year German bonds were steady, hovering near 2.60%. Meanwhile, front-month North Sea Brent crude-oil futures fell by 0.5% to $80.60 per barrel, reflecting the cooling market conditions. The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index was down 7.7% to 17.41, indicating below-average volatility for European stock markets in the upcoming 30 days, which many investors view as a positive signal.
A reading above 20 typically suggests choppier markets ahead, whereas a measurement below 20 implies calmer exchanges..