PARIS (Reuters) – European stocks rose early in the session on Tuesday in the wake of Chinese markets, the three-hour meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping nurturing hopes of a relaxation in relations between the United States and China.
In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.37% to 6,633.88 points around 08:45 GMT while the FTSE 100 in London and the Dax in Frankfurt were practically unchanged.
The EuroStoxx 50 index is up 0.28%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.09% and the Stoxx 600 0.11%.
In China, the Shanghai SSE Composite index ended the day with a gain of 1.64% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong took 4.11% the day after the meeting between the American and Chinese presidents, which reassured investors on the risks of rising geopolitical and trade tensions and favored technology stocks.
In Europe, among the strongest sector increases at the start of the session are defensive compartments such as utilities, whose Stoxx index gains 0.89%.
Markets are waiting at 1:30 p.m. GMT for the monthly US producer price figures, which should fuel the debate on the pace of rate hikes.
In European company news, Vodafone lost 5.08% after lowering its free cash flow forecast and explaining that its annual gross operating surplus would be at the lower end of the range discussed so far.
In Paris, Orpea gains 1.95% after the presentation of its “transformation plan”, which provides for the conversion into shares of 3.8 billion euros of debt and a capital increase as well as a reduction of its presence in international business and the sale of part of its real estate portfolio.
The biggest increase in the CAC 40 is for Teleperformance (+5.87%), supported by a buy recommendation from Citigroup.
(Writing by Marc Angrand, editing by Kate Entringer)