European stocks hold steady; Stocks on Wall Street extended gains 

European markets ended on a mixed note at Tuesday’s close, with risk appetite sharpened by news the U.S. and Mexico had reached a deal to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was off 0.03 percent by the close, with sectors pointing in different directions at the end of market trade.

Looking at bourses, most of Europe’s major indexes closed higher with the U.K.’s FTSE 100 pushing ahead, up 0.52 percent on the back of a strong performance from British miners. The French CAC 40 rose 0.11 percent, while the German DAX came under slight pressure, off 0.09 percent. Peripheral markets showed a mixed-to-lower picture by the finish.

Italy’s FTSE MIB diverted from the bullish moves, weighed by concerns around the new coalition government’s first budget. Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio on Tuesday told Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano that the country’s deficit could go above the European Union’s limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year to fund promised spending measures. The index closed in the red, down 0.85 percent.

On the industry front, basic resources outpaced fellow European sectors, finishing up 1.64 percent amid news of an improving global trade outlook. London-listed miners Evraz, Anglo American, BHP Billiton were top sectoral performers, with Kaz Minerals being the group and the STOXX 600’s biggest gainer, finishing the session up 8.4 percent.

Looking at individual stocks, brewer Royal Unibrew saw shares surge after the company reported stronger-than-anticipated second-quarter figures. The Copenhagen-listed stock also upwardly revised its guidance for the third time this year. The Danish company climbed 4.82 percent.

Meanwhile, Sydbank tumbled to the bottom of Europe’s benchmark after it missed analyst expectations for the first half of the year. Its shares sank over 11 percent by the close.

Trade outlook

On Wall Street, stocks extended gains from the previous session, with the S&P 500 breaching the 2,900 level for the first time ever. The Nasdaq also hit a record high, while the Dow climbed.

Market focus has been largely attuned to trade discussions between the U.S., Mexico and Canada Tuesday, with Ottawa widely expected to agree to new terms this week. A revised three-nation pact would effectively dispel recent economic uncertainty, which had been prompted by President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to scrap the 1994 NAFTA accord.

The U.S. and Mexico reached common ground on key trade terms in the previous session, with Canada scheduled to re-join talks on Tuesday. Disputes between the U.S. and its trading partners have been a drag on market sentiment for much of the year, despite robust economic fundamentals and two solid quarters of corporate earnings.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Tuesday he is hopeful of securing a deal with Canada, but that the White House was ready to “go forward with Mexico” if it falls through.

British Trade Secretary Liam Fox told CNBC the U.K. is looking to secure a trade deal with the U.S. as “quickly as we can.” The U.K. is looking to woo other trading partners as it gears up to leave the European Union in 2019.

Source: CNBC – Europe holds steady at the close after US-Mexico trade deal; miners outperform

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