European equities were little changed on Tuesday, as gains in energy and luxury shares balanced losses in healthcare and industrial sectors, while French markets steadied following a politically turbulent start to the week.
By 07:13 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 hovered near 570.2 points, showing minimal movement. French stocks also traded flat after Monday’s sharp selloff triggered by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s sudden resignation.
The outgoing premier began two days of urgent talks on Tuesday with lawmakers from different parties in a bid to form a new governing majority.
Healthcare shares were among the weakest performers, slipping 0.6%, as Germany’s Bayer (TG:BAYN) and Denmark’s Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) both lost about 2%.
Defence contractors also weighed on sentiment, with Rheinmetall (TG:RHM) and BAE Systems (LSE:BA.) each down roughly 1%, pulling the broader index slightly lower.
In contrast, oil and gas stocks advanced, buoyed by a 1.9% rise in Shell (LSE:SHEL) after the energy giant projected stronger liquefied natural gas output and improved gas trading results for the third quarter.
Luxury names outperformed as Morgan Stanley upgraded its stance on LVMH (EU:MC) and Kering (EU:KER) to “overweight” from “equal weight”, lifting their shares by 1.8% and 2.2%, respectively.
Among notable movers, B&M (LSE:BME) plunged around 15% after the discount retailer forecast a 28% drop in first-half core earnings and signaled a weaker annual profit outlook.
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