By Nikhil Sharma and Shashwat Chauhan
(Reuters) -Europe’s STOXX 600 struggled for direction on Tuesday as rising shares in the industrials and financials sectors offset losses in healthcare stocks, with focus on key inflation data across the continent due later in the day would be.
Europe’s main index pared initial losses to hold steady at 513.28 points, trading at its highest level in three weeks.
Financials rose 0.9% and was among the top STOXX subsectors, boosted by a nearly 5% rise at Partners Group after UBS upgraded its rating on the buyout firm to ‘buy’.
Retailers rose 0.8% while Britain’s Next rose 2.7% after the clothing retailer raised its annual profit outlook for the fourth time in six months.
Industrial goods and services rose 0.3%, boosted by a 9.8% increase at heavy machinery and vehicle supplier Kion Group. The company is working with Nvidia and IT services provider Accenture to optimize supply chains with AI technologies.
A 4.7% jump at Volvo also contributed to the gain.
On the other hand, healthcare fell by 0.4%. Index heavyweight Novo Nordisk lost 2.3% and AstraZeneca was 1.2% lower.
The pan-European benchmark was up almost 1% in the latest session after a report suggested newly-elected US President Donald Trump could opt for a less aggressive tariff strategy.
Trump later denied the report, adding to the uncertainty in the days leading up to the former president’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
“Rumors and denials have a history of misleading investors and causing temporary dislocations across a range of assets,” Societe Generale analysts wrote in a note.
“Yesterday was a great example of how stories, coming from reputable channels, can disrupt the daily flow.”
The focus will be on a eurozone inflation figure due later in the session that could provide further insight into the European Central Bank’s interest rate outlook.
French consumer prices rose less than expected in December, while Swiss inflation fell again, fueling expectations for further interest rate cuts by the Swiss National Bank.
European stocks lagged their global counterparts last year as looming tariff threats, a slowing economy and geopolitical uncertainty in top economies France and Germany kept investors on edge.
Deutsche Bank said it is now “overweight” on European stocks due to an improving political environment, macro conditions and possible stimulus from China in 2025.
Among other notable stocks, Sodexo fell 8.4% after the French food caterer failed to meet market expectations on organic sales in the first quarter.
(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Janane Venkatraman)
