Yahoo Finance LIVE: FTSE and Wall Street advance as chancellor signs deal with EU
A look at how the major markets are performing on Tuesday
European stock markets were muted on Tuesday as chancellor Jeremy Hunt is set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on financial services which sets out plans for UK/EU cooperation.
In London, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) managed to eke out a 0.1% gain after a rollercoaster session, while the CAC (^FCHI) closed 0.4% higher in Paris, and the Frankfurt DAX (^GDAXI) was 0.2% higher.
Across the pond, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.5% by the time of the European close, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) gained 0.6%. The Dow Jones (^DJI) edged 0.4% higher.
It came as UK shop price inflation eased in June, according to the latest figures. New data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ showed that UK shop price annual inflation dropped to 8.4% in June, down from 9.0% in May.
Food inflation decelerated to 14.6% during the period, down from 15.4% the previous month.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: "Households up and down the country will welcome the easing of shop price inflation in June. If the current situation continues, food inflation should drop to single digits later this year."
Elsewhere, European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde said interest rates in the eurozone would stay elevated for as long as necessary. She added that it was unlikely the bank would be able to say soon that it has reached the peak of where rates will reach.
“Shares fluctuated in Europe on Tuesday, despite positive developments from China overnight lifting market sentiment, as investors brace for today's busy agenda. Most EU benchmarks rose after the opening bell with a fresh boost provided by further hopes of Chinese stimulus measures following a step up from the region's central bank to support the Yuan currency," Pierre Veyret, technical analyst at ActivTrades, said.
“However, price action ended this directional move shortly after as investors prepared to digest another batch of significant economic developments brought by today's speech from President Christine Lagarde at the ECB forum in Sintra.”
Watch: How does inflation affect interest rates?
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