European Markets Rally Amid Investor Caution Ahead of Key Data

European shares gained traction, driven by heavyweight miners and a pending U.S. interest rate cut. The STOXX 600 rose 0.3%, while Germany's DAX saw a 0.4% increase. Investors remain cautious ahead of key economic data and Nvidia's Q2 results. Tech stocks weighed down the index, but Ryanair and Bunzl saw significant gains.

European shares moved higher on Tuesday following a subdued start to the week, supported by heavyweight miners, although investors remained cautious ahead of key economic data this week.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.3% at 519.51 points. The basic resources sub-index was the top sectoral gainer in the region, jumping more than 1%, as copper prices climbed to a near six-week peak on optimism over a potential U.S. interest rate cut. Germany's benchmark DAX was trading 0.4% higher after detailed GDP data released earlier in the day showed the economy shrank by 0.1% in the second quarter of 2024. The Swedish benchmark index ticked up 0.1% after data signalled producer price index was down 1.4% in July.

Investors remained on the sidelines, as they wait for more key economic data from Germany, Spain, France and Italy this week. Markets will closely watch the European Union's inflation print that is set to drop on Friday, for signals on the policy path for the European Central Bank - whose policymakers have a rather restrictive stance on borrowing costs.

"We are still in a restrictive environment because the services sector continues to grow, even though the manufacturing sector is shrinking," said Krasimir Yordanov, a portfolio manager at SKY Asset Management. However, AI-sector darling Nvidia's second-quarter results on Wednesday will take centre-stage, with investors becoming jittery, as even a slight miss may hurt the chipmaker's shares. Tech stocks were the biggest weight on the benchmark index. "Investor sentiment is generally muted in Europe. We are in a bull market, but the relative change is much muted compared to the U.S. because Europe lacks those large AI related stocks," Yordanov added.

Bunzl surged 8.6%, after the British business supplies distributor raised its annual adjusted operating profit forecast. Santander gained 1.5% after the Spanish bank launched a 1.525 billion euro ($1.7 billion) share buyback programme. Ryanair gained 5% after the budget airline's CEO Michael O'Leary said the company no longer sees a risk of double-digit percentage falls in average fares this summer. Peer Easyjet also rose 4.4%.

On the flipside, Flughafen Zuerich slumped 4.6%, after the Swiss airport operator missed first-half margin estimates. Associated British Foods was down 2.9% after Deutsche Bank cuts its rating on the stock to "Sell" from "Buy".

(With inputs from agencies.)