European Shares Rise In Cautious Trade; FTSE 100 Outperforms

European stocks traded mostly higher on Tuesday, with U.K. stocks outperforming as oil and mining stocks rebounded after suffering heavy losses in the previous session.

A cautious undertone prevailed due to uncertainty over Fed policy and fears over China’s worsening COVID situation.

Investors were also reacting to mixed comments from ECB policymakers on the rate hike path.

After several ECB officials hinted at slower rate hikes, ECB policymaker Robert Holzmann has backed another 75-bps rate hike at the next rate-setting meeting in December.

The pan European STOXX 600 rose 0.4 percent to 434.62 after finishing marginally higher on Monday.

The German DAX gained 0.3 percent, France’s CAC 40 index inched up 0.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.9 percent.

BP Plc jumped 5.1 percent and Shell rallied nearly 3 percent, tracking higher oil prices after Saudi Arabia’s energy minister denied a report that suggested OPEC+ group was considering an increase in supply.

Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore gained 1-2 percent.

Cranswick added 1.4 percent after the food producer reported a rise in half-year sales.

Babcock International, an aerospace, defense and nuclear engineering services company, surged 4.2 percent after backing its FY23 outlook.

Italian utility Enel gained 2 percent after it unveiled plans to cut debt with asset sales worth 21 billion euros ($21.51 billion).

Dutch tech investor Prosus tumbled 3 percent after flagging an expected earnings slump for the six months to Sept. 20.

Societe Generale shares fell about 1 percent in Paris. The financial services company has joined hands with AllianceBernstein (AB), an investment management and research firm, to form a joint venture to accelerate growth in cash equities.

In the JV, the companies will combine their cash equities and equity research businesses.

Thyssenkrupp shares slumped 4.6 percent after activist fund Cevian cut its stake in the German industrial engineering company to less than 1 percent.

In economic releases, the U.K. budget deficit widened in October as the government started paying under the energy support scheme, official data showed.

Public sector net borrowing, excluding banks, increased by GBP 4.4 billion from the last year to GBP 13.5 billion in October, the Office for National Statistics reported.

This was the fourth highest October borrowing since monthly records began in 1993 but below economists’ forecast of GBP 22 billion.

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