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European markets close slightly higher; euro zone GDP data shows Germany on the brink of recession

Holly Ellyatt

This is CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

European markets gained on Tuesday, marking a fresh two-year high as investors digested preliminary fourth-quarter gross domestic product figures for the euro zone.

European markets


The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session up 0.18% higher, at its highest level sine Jan. 17, 2022, according to LSEG data. Banks gained 1.3% as mining stocks slid 1.3%.

The euro zone economy stabilized in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to flash figures published by the European Union's statistics agency. The flat reading showed the bloc narrowly missed a shallow recession following a 0.1% fall in the third quarter.

Regional markets on Monday closed slightly higher as investors looked ahead to a slew of earnings, data and central bank announcements through the week.

Asia-Pacific markets rose across the board overnight, except Hong Kong, which fell as investors continue to grapple with the fallout from Evergrande's liquidation order.

U.S. futures dipped as investors analyzed the latest corporate earnings with the Federal Reserve policy meeting on the horizon Wednesday.

IMF ups global growth forecast

The International Monetary Fund nudged its global growth forecast higher, citing the unexpected strength of the U.S. economy and fiscal support measures in China.

It now sees global growth in 2024 at 3.1%, up 0.2 percentage points from its prior October projection, followed by 3.2% expansion in 2025.

Large emerging market economies including Brazil, India and Russia have also performed better than previously thought.

The IMF believes there is now a reduced likelihood of a so-called "hard landing," an economic contraction following a period of strong growth, despite new risks from commodity price spikes and supply chain issues due to geopolitical volatility in the Middle East.

It forecasts growth this year of 2.1% in the U.S., 0.9% in both the euro zone and Japan, and 0.6% in the United Kingdom.

Read more here.

— Jenni Reid

Mixed euro zone GDP data shows Germany on the brink of recession

Germany's economy contracted in the final three months of last year, putting Europe's largest economy on the brink of recession, new data showed Tuesday.

German gross domestic product shrank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023, in line with forecasts. It follows two consecutive quarters of quarters of flat growth.

Meantime, across the euro zone, the picture was mixed. France's economy stagnated in the final three months of 2023, recording 0.0% growth, while Italy's and Spain's economies grew 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively.

— Karen Gilchrist

Renault shares jump 5% after scrapping plans to list EV unit

Shares of French car maker Renault jumped 5% in early deals on Tuesday, after the company canceled plans to publicly list its new electric vehicle and software business.

Renault said Monday that it would no longer hold an initial public offering of its Ampere unit, which chief executive Luca de Meo had previously positioned as a 10 billion euro ($10.8 billion) rival to Tesla and Chinese EV makers, according to the Financial Times.

Renaults share price rose 5.13% at the market open Tuesday before dipping to trade up 1.7% by 8:30 a.m. London time.

— Karen Gilchrist

Stocks on the move: WPP up 6.5%, Delivery Hero down 5%

The logo of German food delivery service Delivery Hero.
Sean Gallup | Getty Images

Shares of British advertising agency WPP rose to the top of the Stoxx 600 after it raised its medium-term financial targets on the back of cost-cutting measures.

On the other end, German food delivery service Delivery Hero sank 6% after announcing that it would sell a stake in Deliveroo amid a wider cooling in demand for delivery services.

— Karen Gilchrist

UK shop inflation falls to lowest rate in two years

U.K. shop price inflation fell sharply in January to reach its lowest rate in almost two years amid heavy discounting from retailers around the Christmas period, new data showed Tuesday.

The British Retail Consortium said the annual shop price inflation slowed to 2.9% in January, down from 4.3% the month prior.

It marks the seventh consecutive monthly decline and the lowest rate since May 2022.

— Karen Gilchrist

CNBC Pro: Analysts are so bullish on this global chip stock they keep naming it as their top pick

One stock frequently showed up among analysts' top calls this month.

They are bullish on it as a play on artificial intelligence.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets are expected to open in negative territory Tuesday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 17 points lower at 8,393, Germany's DAX down 18 points at 18,718, France's CAC 5 points lower at 8,199 and Italy's FTSE MIB down 31 points at 34,451, according to data from IG.

Earnings are due from Euronext, Eutelsat, Hannover Re, Bayer, Porsche and Vodafone.

— Holly Ellyatt