European shares climb on trade relief, PMIs in focus

(Reuters) – European shares inched higher on Tuesday on relief that the U.S.-China Phase One trade deal was “fully intact”, while investors awaited the latest batch of business activity data to gauge the pace of recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index <.stoxx> rose 0.6% by 0711 GMT, led higher by technology <.sx8p>, financial services <.sxfp>, and industrial goods and services <.sxnp> sectors.

Stoking volatile trading overnight, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the trade deal with China was “over”, but later walked back those remarks, while U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed in a tweet the trade deal was fully intact.

Markit’s early readings of euro zone Purchasing Managers’ index (PMI) for June, due at 0800 GMT, are likely to show business activity further improved from record low levels in April as many countries eased restrictions.

Bayer AG gained 1.6% after a U.S. federal appeals court blocked California from requiring the company to label its glyphosate-based weed killer, Roundup, with a cancer warning.

German metals trader Kloeckner & Co jumped 15.2% after it provided positive earnings outlook for the second quarter.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)