European Markets Finished Mostly Higher Despite China Jitters

(RTTNews) - The majority of the European markets ended Tuesday's session in the green. The markets lacked direction Tuesday, fluctuating between gains and losses over the course of the trading day. Investors remained cautious after the global sell-off in equities yesterday. Energy stocks were under pressure today despite the rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Chinese authorities have announced measures to support investor sentiment, including a liquidity boost by the central bank and more steps to regularize stock selling by major shareholders, after stock markets endured a massive sell-off Monday.

The People's Bank of China on Tuesday pumped $19.94 billion or 130 billion yuan in its 7-day reverse repurchase operation, the biggest such injection since September.

The Chinese stock market sank 7 percent on Monday, which led to a suspension of trade after its new "circuit breaker" was triggered on its very first day. The rout spread to the global markets.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.42 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.66 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 0.26 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.34 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. gained 0.72 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.52 percent.

In Frankfurt, Volkswagen declined 4.23 percent. The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, filed a civil complaint against the company in federal court. The DoJ is reportedly seeking billions of dollars in penalties in the wake of an emissions-cheating crisis.

Fresenius Medical Care surged 5.55 percent and Merck added 1.57 percent.

RWE climbed 1.75 percent and E.ON rose 0.70 percent.

In Paris, Bouygues announced that preliminary discussions have started with Orange to look at possible options. Bouygues gained 0.39 percent and Orange added 0.72 percent.

Technip sank 4.64 percent and Total lost 0.91 percent.

In London, retailer Next sank 4.59 percent after reporting weak holiday sales. Burberry dropped 1.67 percent, while Marks & Spencer weakened by 0.07 percent.

Supermarket major J Sainsbury confirmed an approach in November to Home Retail Group for a possible offer in the form of Sainsbury's shares and cash. The approach was rejected by Home Retail Group. Home Retail surged 41.13 percent, but J Sainsbury fell 5.17 percent.

Tesco rose 1.51 percent, after Deutsche Bank upgraded its rating on the stock to "Buy" from "Hold."

Travis Perkins gained 2.89 percent, after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to "Outperform" from "Neutral."

Eurozone inflation remained stable at a very low level in December, seeking more actions from the European Central Bank as oil prices, the main source contributing to the weakness, are unlikely to rebound in the near term.

According to flash data from Eurostat on Tuesday, consumer prices advanced 0.2 percent year-on-year in December, the same rate as seen in November, but slower than the 0.4 percent rate economists had forecast.

Germany's unemployment declined more-than-expected in December and the rate held steady at the lowest level since reunification, signaling strength in the labor market despite the huge influx of migrants. The number of people out of work declined again by 14,000 in December compared to an expected drop of 8,000. There were 2.757 million unemployed at the end of the year.

The jobless rate came in at 6.3 percent in December, the same as in November and matched expectations. This was the lowest since the German reunification in 1990.

Germany's unemployment rate remained unchanged in November, labor force survey published by Destatis showed Tuesday. The jobless rate came in at adjusted 4.5 percent, the same rate as seen in October. In the same period last year, the rate was 4.9 percent.

The U.K. construction sector strengthened more than expected in December, survey results from Markit showed Tuesday. The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 57.8 in December from a seven-month low of 55.3 in November. It was forecast to rise moderately to 56.