European Markets Finished Mixed As Greek Deadline Approaches

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Tuesday's session with mixed results. The situation in Greece remains in focus as the country approaches its debt-repayment deadline of June 5. Greece is likely to be the dominant topic of conversation at Wednesday's European Central Bank meeting.

Meanwhile, inflation has returned to the Eurozone, after Eurozone consumer prices increased for the first time in six months in May.

Following a late-night summit in Berlin on Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed to intensify the talks to reach a deal with Greece, a German government spokesman said in a statement. The meeting was reportedly aimed to draft an offer to be presented to Greece in the coming days.

European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Pierre Moscovici told France Inter radio in an interview on Tuesday that serious progress was being made at last in the negotiations between Greece and its creditors to find a solution before a June 5th deadline. The EU official also acknowledged that more efforts were needed on both sides.

Elsewhere, Greece's state-backed ANA/MPA news agency cited a statement from the government denying the receipt of any draft agreement from the creditors or having any recent contact with them. That was in response to German media reports that claimed a draft of a final proposal had been sent to Athens.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, meanwhile, revealed that Greece has submitted specific proposals to creditors to make an exit from the crisis.

"Greece has tabled proposals, we have made concessions - a normal practice in a negotiation - but we have submitted a realistic plan for the country to get out of the crisis," Tsipras said.

He added, "The outcome of the negotiations will mark the end of the division of Europe. It is now clear that the decision about whether they wish to adapt to realism and exit the crisis without Europe's division belongs to the leadership of Europe."

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased by 0.36 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 1.07 percent.

The DAX of Germany declined by 0.94 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell by 0.41 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. dropped by 0.36 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.68 percent.

In Frankfurt, Merck dropped by 2.49 percent. Fresenius declined by 2.20 percent and Fresenius Medical Care lost 1.59 percent.

Daimler decreased by 2.47 percent and Volkswagen fell by 1.72 percent. BMW also finished down by 0.60 percent.

Deutsche Bank increased by 1.47 percent and Commerzbank gained 0.87 percent.

In Paris, drinks maker Pernod-Ricard, which held its Capital Markets Day, declined by 4.85 percent.

LVMH gained 1.16 percent, after HSBC upgraded its rating on the stock to "Buy."

Credit Agricole increased by 2.37 percent and BNP Paribas added 1.24 percent. Societe Generale also rose by 1.30 percent.

Technip climbed by 1.96 percent and Total added 0.34 percent.

In London, British American Tobacco fell by 2.41 percent. A Canadian court ordered three Canadian tobacco manufacturers, including British American, to pay a total of C$15.6 billion in damages to resolve two Canadian class action lawsuits brought on behalf of two smoker groups.

Plumbing and heating products distributor Wolseley climbed by 2.02 percent, after reporting increased trading profit and revenue for the third quarter.

Mining stocks turned in a positive performance as precious metal prices climbed. Anglo American advanced by 4.54 percent and Antofagasta added 3.16 percent. Rio Tinto increased by 2.38 percent and Glencore gained 1.63 percent.

Svenska Handelsbanken dropped by 1.01 percent in Stockholm. Credit Suisse downgraded its rating on the stock to "Underperform" from "Neutral."

Eurozone consumer prices increased for the first time in six months in May vindicating that the measures taken by the central bank are helping the economy to move out of deflation. The harmonized index of consumer prices rose 0.3 percent year-on-year in May after staying flat in April, flash data from Eurostat showed Tuesday. Final data is due on May 19.

This was the first annual increase since last November and also the fastest since October 2014, when prices rose 0.4 percent. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent increase for May.

Eurozone producer prices continued to decline in April, but the pace was the slowest in five months, yet faster than economists' expected, figures from Eurostat showed Tuesday. The producer price index fell 2.2 percent year-over-year in April, slower than previous month's 2.3 percent decrease. Economists had forecast a 2 percent fall for the month.

Germany's unemployment rate held steady in April, figures from Destatis showed Tuesday. The jobless rate came in at an adjusted 4.7 percent in April, the same rate as in the previous month. In the same month of the previous year, the rate was 5.0 percent.

German unemployment declined less than expected in May, the Federal Labor Agency reportedly said Tuesday. The number of people out of work declined by seasonally adjusted 6,000 in May. It was forecast to fall by 10,000. The jobless rate came in at a record low 6.4 percent, the same rate as seen in April.

British construction expansion quickened more-than-expected in May, underpinned by a post-election bounce in new orders, survey figures from Markit Economics showed Tuesday. The Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index, rose to 55.9 in May from 54.2 in the previous month. Economists had expected the index to rise to 55.0.

U.K. mortgage approvals increased to a 14-month high in April, the Bank of England said Tuesday. The number of mortgages approved for house purchases rose more-than-expected to 68,076 in April from 61,945 in March. This was the highest level since February 2014. It was forecast increase to 63,500.

After reporting a sharp jump in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing that factory orders fell by more than expected in the month of April.

The report said factory orders fell by 0.4 percent in April after soaring by an upwardly revised 2.2 percent in March. Economists had expected orders to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 2.1 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.