LONDON — European stocks fell Tuesday as investors monitored hopes for economic recovery and the confirmation speech of incoming U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
European markets
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session down by around 0.2%, with basic resources and travel shares both falling 1.3% to lead losses as most sectors and major bourses dipped into negative territory.
Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden's designated nominee for Treasury Secretary and a former chair of the Federal Reserve, appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday.
Yellen's remarks called for the federal government to enact a large stimulus to help the economy. "Neither the President-elect, nor I, propose this relief package without an appreciation for the country's debt burden. But right now, with interest rates at historic lows, the smartest thing we can do is act big. In the long run, I believe the benefits will far outweigh the costs," Yellen said.
European markets were initially buoyed by positive sentiment in the U.S. overnight, and Wall Street stocks moved higher on Tuesday as they bounced back from a rough week ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration Wednesday. Investors tracked earnings reports from major U.S. corporates, with Goldman Sachs beating while Bank of American missed expectations in its results.
Back in Europe, there were no major earnings Tuesday, but on the data front Germany's ZEW published its latest survey of economic sentiment. The survey of investor economic sentiment increased to 61.8 in January from 55.0 points the previous month, ZEW said, better than an expected 60.0.
In terms of individual share price movement, Carl Zeiss Meditec climbed 5.8% toward the top of the Stoxx 600 after a strong quarterly earnings report.
Stellantis, the new company formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Peugeot S.A. (PSA) continued to climb in its first week of trading, adding a further 2.6%.
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, Ladbrokes owner Entain plunged 11.9% after MGM Resorts said it had abandoned a takeover attempt of the firm.