European stocks closed higher Tuesday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel calmed a brewing row over migration that threatened her fragile government.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose steadily during morning deals, giving up some, but not all, of those gains in the afternoon. The index closed provisionally up by 0.79 percent.
All European sectors bar Basic Resources traded in positive territory.
Germany's DAX was among those to lead the gains, up 0.9 percent on Tuesday. This after a political breakthrough late Monday evening prompted Germany's interior minister to rescind a threat to resign.
The FTSE 100 ended the day higher by 0.48 percent, despite that slump in Basic Resources' stocks.
European markets
Market focus is largely attuned to the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade row, with heightened fears the dispute could soon derail a rare period of synchronized global growth. Investors are nervous ahead of a July 6 deadline when the U.S. is set to impose tariffs on $34 billion worth of goods from China. Beijing is then expected to respond with charges of its own on U.S. goods.
Looking at individual stocks and the miner Glencore tumbled to the bottom of the index after U.S. authorities demanded the company hand over documents relating to its business in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Venezuela. The commodities trader and miner said a subpoena, issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, had been received regarding the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and U.S. money laundering statutes. Shares of Glencore fell over 8 percent for the Tuesday session.
The share price of Steinhoff jumped by over a third on Tuesday, taking the South African retailer to its best level since early May 2018. It should be noted that the 37 percent leap in share price was from a particularly low base on an historical basis. One unsubstantiated report suggested the company is interested in buying the clothing chain Pepco.
SBM Offshore was also at the top of the European benchmark, after the Dutch supplier of oil rigs was awarded contracts for Exxon Mobil's Liza development project. The news prompted SMB Offshore's shares to spike 5.75 percent.
Meanwhile, Dutch manufacturer BE Semiconductor slumped tafter the company said it would miss expectations for revenue growth in the second quarter. The Amsterdam-listed stock cited the cancellation of orders worth around 28 million euros ($32.6 million) as the primary reason for the earnings miss. Shares of BE Semiconductor, which are listed on the Euronext, were 8.9 percent lower.