European Markets Finished Higher Following Recent Pull Back

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Tuesday's session in the green, following 5 consecutive sessions of declines. The markets received a boost from a number of encouraging corporate financial reports and a slew of M&A announcements.

Investors remain cautious ahead of tomorrow's announcement from the Federal Reserve. The Fed will conclude its 2-day monetary policy meeting Wednesday and investors will be watching for clues to when the central bank will begin to increase interest rates.

China remains a concern, as the recent sell-off in the country continued. China's Shanghai Composite index closed down 62.56 points or 1.68 percent at 3,663 after seeing its worst daily performance in more than eight years the previous day.

Investors continue to keep an eye on Greece, as talks in Athens on a third aid package for the country have reached day 2. Officials hope to have a deal hammered out by August 11.

U.K. Chancellor George Osborne on Tuesday announced the appointment of Gertjan Vlieghe as external member of Bank of England's rate-setting committee.

Vlieghe replaces David Miles whose term ends in August. Vlieghe will be appointed for an initial three-year term which will take effect from September 1.

As an external member, Vlieghe will hold one of nine votes to decide the future path of monetary policy.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 1.06 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 1.06 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed by 0.97 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose by 0.82 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. gained 0.80 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.88 percent.

In Frankfurt, Deutsche Börse rose by 0.98 percent. The German stock exchange operator unveiled job cuts and other cost-cutting measures to boost its revenues by as much as a third by the end of 2018.

Drug delivery devices maker Gerresheimer surged by 12.40 percent after reaching an agreement with Nemera Development S.A. to acquire 100 percent of the share capital of Centor US Holding Inc.

In Paris, telecom company Orange gained 0.70 percent, after maintaining its full-year earnings and dividend targets.

Shares of luxury-goods maker Kering, whose brands include Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Yves Saint Laurent, advanced by 5.51 percent after posting first-half earnings that beat analysts' estimates.

Michelin tumbled by 6.40 percent after the tire maker reported a 9 percent increase in first-half earnings.

In London, BP rose by 1.46 percent, despite reporting a loss for its second quarter, hurt by lower prices and litigation settlement charges.

Melrose surged by 9.94 percent on news that U.S. industrial giant Honeywell is buying its Elster business.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals increased by 12.02 percent, after it agreed to acquire Roxane Laboratories Inc. and Boehringer Ingelheim Roxane Inc. from Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH for about $2.65 billion in cash and stock.

GKN added 7.59 percent, after it agreed to acquire Fokker Technologies Group B.V. from Arle Capital for 706 million euros.

RSA Insurance Group soared by 17.75 percent after Switzerland's Zurich Insurance Group said it is evaluating a potential offer. Zurich Insurances finished lower by 1.82 percent in Zurich.

A measure of future economic activity in Eurozone rose for the seventh successive month in June, signaling a modest recovery in economic activity through the balance of the year, the Conference Board said Monday. The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index, or LEI, for the euro area increased 0.4 percent to 107.1, after a 0.3 percent rise in May. In April, the index rose by 0.5 percent.

French unemployment rose marginally to a fresh record in June, data released by the labor ministry revealed late Monday. The number of unemployed increased 1,300 in June from the prior month to 3.55 million. From a year ago, it rose by 4.7 percent.

Italy's consumer confidence and business sentiment weakened more-than-expected in July, survey figures from ISTAT showed Tuesday. The consumer confidence index fell to 106.5 in July from 109.3 in the previous month, revised down from 109.5. Economists had expected the index to fall to 109.

U.K. economic growth accelerated in the second quarter driven by an improvement in services output, which has again fueled debate over the timing of the interest rate hike. Gross domestic product grew 0.7 percent sequentially, in line with forecast, following a 0.4 percent rise in the first quarter, preliminary estimate from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday.

House price inflation in England and Wales reached its 3-month high in June, after easing in the previous nine months, data from the Land Registry showed Tuesday. The house price index rose 5.4 percent year-over-year in June, faster than previous month's 4.6 percent climb. The latest rate of inflation was the highest since March, when prices grew the same 5.4 percent.

With home prices in major U.S. metropolitan areas unexpectedly showing a monthly decrease in May, Standard & Poor's released a report on Tuesday showing that the annual rate of price growth during the month came in well below economist estimates.

The report said the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index rose 4.9 percent year-over-year in May, reflecting a modest slowdown from the upwardly revised 5.0 percent growth seen in April. Economists had expected the annual rate of price growth to accelerate to 5.6 percent from the 4.9 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Confidence among U.S. consumers has seen a substantial deterioration in the month of July, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index tumbled to 90.9 in July from a downwardly revised 99.8 in June.

Economists had expected the index to show a much more modest decrease to a reading of 99.6 from the 101.4 originally reported for the previous month.