European Markets Finished With Modest Gains Amidst Greek Caution

(RTTNews) - The majority of the European markets ended Tuesday's session with modest gains. The markets were mixed in early trade, as investors turned cautious due to the upcoming Greek deadline. A nuclear agreement with Iran also impacted energy stocks in early trade, while disappointing U.S. retail sales weighed on sentiment in the afternoon.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has to convince his party and Parliament to back tough austerity measures by Wednesday's EU-imposed deadline or face the country's bankruptcy.

The world's major powers have reached a landmark agreement with Iran on the future of the Islamic nation's nuclear program. The deal, struck after marathon overnight negotiations in Vienna, would limit Iran's nuclear program and bring it under close scrutiny in exchange for lifting crippling economic sanctions.

Favorable lending conditions and improved demand for loans continued to underpin further recovery in bank credit in Eurozone during the three months to June, and both businesses and households are expected to take more loans in the third quarter, results of a survey by the European Central Bank showed Tuesday.

The quarterly Bank Lending Survey, which was conducted between June 9 and 24, showed that credit standards on loans to enterprises eased further, largely due to competition, albeit at a slower pace. However, they expect no further net easing of credit standards in the third quarter.

Net demand for loans to enterprises rose significantly with 13 percent banks reporting an increase, up from 1 percent in the previous quarter. Though this was below their expectations, banks expect a further surge in demand in the three months to September.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Tuesday that an interest rate hike is moving closer. At the Treasury Select Committee hearing, Carney said the point at which interest rates may begin to rise is moving closer. It is counter-balanced somewhat by disinflation, he said.

There would inevitably be "shocks and adjustments," he cautioned. He reiterated that the increase in rates would be limited and gradual.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 0.47 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.63 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed by 0.28 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose by 0.69 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. gained 0.23 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.66 percent.

In Frankfurt, utility RWE dropped by 1.88 percent after UBS cut its rating on the stock to "Sell" from "Neutral." Peer E.ON finished down by 0.40 percent.

Volkswagen dropped by 2.70 percent and BMW lost 0.56 percent. Daimler also declined by 0.54 percent.

In Paris, Peugeot decreased by 2.06 percent and Renault fell by 1.03 percent. Car parts maker Valeo also surrendered 1.62 percent.

Technip advanced by 0.94 percent and Total added 0.95 percent.

In London, Michael Page fell by 2.34 percent. The staffing firm said second-quarter gross profit improved from the prior year.

Sky climbed by 4.08 percent, after Deutsche Bank upgraded it to "Buy" from "Hold."

ITV slipped by 0.29 percent, after Deutsche Bank downgraded its rating on the stock to "Sell" from "Hold."

Kuehne & Nagel climbed by 2.22 percent in Zurich, after the sea-freight forwarder announced its first-half results.

Eurozone industrial production declined unexpectedly in May largely due to a fall in energy output, data from Eurostat showed Tuesday. Industrial production was down 0.4 percent month-on-month in May after staying flat in April. It was forecast to rise 0.2 percent in May.

German investor confidence declined less-than-expected in July as the crisis in China and Greece failed to result in much impact, survey results showed Tuesday. The Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany dropped to 29.7 from 31.5 in the previous month, the Mannheim-based Centre for European Economic Research or ZEW said. Economists had forecast a score of 29. The latest reading is well above its long-term average of 24.9 points.

Germany's inflation slowed as initially estimated in June due to falling energy prices, final data from Destatis showed Tuesday. Inflation eased to 0.3 percent in June from 0.7 percent in May. The inflation rate as measured by the consumer price index decreased after four months of uninterrupted increase.

U.K. inflation returned to zero in June, data published by the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday. Consumer prices remained flat on a yearly basis in June as expected by economists after rising 0.1 percent in May.

House price inflation in the United Kingdom accelerated in May from a 16-month low in the previous month, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday. Average house prices climbed 5.7 percent year-over-year in May, slightly faster than April's 5.5 percent increase. In March, prices had risen 9.6 percent.

The total value of like-for-like sales in the United Kingdom was up 1.8 percent on year in June, the British Retail Consortium said on Tuesday. That topped forecasts for an increase of 0.5 percent following the flat reading in May.

After reporting a sharp jump in U.S. retail sales in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing that sales unexpectedly pulled back in the month of June. The report said retail sales fell by 0.3 percent in June compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 0.3 percent.

Import prices in the U.S. unexpectedly saw a modest decrease in the month of June, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday, with a drop in non-fuel prices more than offsetting an increase in fuel prices.

The report said import prices edged down by 0.1 percent in June following a 1.2 percent increase in May. Economists had expected prices to inch up by 0.1 percent.

The Labor Department also said export prices fell by 0.2 in June after climbing by 0.6 percent in the previous month. Export prices had been expected to rise by 0.2 percent.

Business inventories in the U.S. rose in line with economist estimates in the month of May, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.

The report said business inventories rose by 0.3 percent in May after climbing by 0.4 percent in April. The continued increase matched the consensus estimate.