Major European stock markets close in positive territory and the euro rises against the dollar.

FRANKFURT, Germany—Major European markets closed in positive territory on Tuesday, with the exception of the London Stock Exchange, which closed virtually flat, while the euro climbed above $1.1150.

The euro rose above $1.1150 today, following the publication of US inflation figures , which were lower than expected, and after the strong improvement in investor confidence in Germany and the eurozone.

The euro was trading at $1.1148 around 3:00 p.m. GMT, down from $1.1124 in the final hours of European foreign exchange trading the previous day.

The European Central Bank (ECB) today set the euro's reference exchange rate at $1.1112.

Financial market experts' expectations for the eurozone economy improved by 30.1 points in May, up to 11.6 points, compared to April.

The euro fell sharply on Monday after the US and China agreed to a pause in their tariffs.

The single currency traded within a fluctuation band between $1.1095 and $1.1152.

The Madrid stock market rose 0.83% on Tuesday, reaching a new annual high near the 13,800-point mark, while Wall Street posted a moderate decline.

In its fourth consecutive session of gains, the Spanish market's benchmark index, the IBEX 35, gained 113.8 points, or 0.83%, to 13,769.1 points, remaining at the levels seen at the end of May 2008. This year, it has accumulated a gain of 18.75%.

The Spanish stock market managed to close the session with a gain of nearly 1% despite a 0.37% drop on Wall Street at the close in Europe. A barrel of Brent crude oil was trading at $66.01, up 0.62%.

Among the major stocks, Inditex rose 1.85%, Repsol 1.55%, BBVA 1.42%, and Banco Santander 0.27%. On the other hand, Iberdrola fell 0.13% and Telefónica 0.11%.

The Milan Stock Exchange closed higher on Tuesday, with its FTSE MIB index rising 0.39% to 40,077.49 points, buoyed by the slowdown in inflation in the United States and the truce in the tariff war with China.

The FTSE Italia All-Share index, meanwhile, rose 0.41% to 42,498.02 points.

During the session, 703 million shares were traded, valued at approximately €3.609 billion.

On the positive side, the automotive giant Stellantis stood out, increasing its share price by 4.39%, as well as other companies in the sector such as the truck manufacturer Iveco, which gained a notable 3.81%, and Pirelli (2.36%).

They were followed by Banca Monte Paschi Siena (4.20%), hearing aid manufacturer Amplifon (3.42%), cable manufacturer Prysmian (3.29%), Stmicroelectronics (2.85%), fashion firm Brunello Cucinelli (2.49%) and oil company Saipem (2.33%).

On the other hand, the drinks company Campari (2.96%), the electricity company A2a (2.38%), the collection network Nexi (2.17%), the bank Unicredit (1.48%), the insurance companies Generali (1.15%) and Unipol (0.89%), the postal service Poste Italiane (0.66%) or Banco Popolare Milano (0.63%), among others, lost.

The Frankfurt Stock Exchange gained 0.31% today following moderate US inflation and after several companies released their results, setting an intraday record on Monday.

The DAX 40 index rose 0.31% to 23,638.56 points, while the TecDAX technology index gained 0.60% to 3,819.47 points.

The sharp improvement in investor confidence in Germany in May following the formation of a new government barely boosted German equities.

However, consumer prices did fall in the US in April, falling by 2.3% year-over-year (2.4% year-over-year in March).

Volkswagen Group rose 3.8% to €104.95, BMW gained 3% to €83.98, and Porsche SE, which includes stakes in VW and the sports car maker, gained 2.1% to €38.09.

Pharmaceutical and chemical group Bayer gained 2.8% to €24.74 after reporting better-than-expected results for sales of new prescription drugs and confirming its full-year forecasts.

Bayer shares rose by nearly 12% after the opening of trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, but the strong rally subsequently fizzled.

However, Munich-based reinsurer Münchener Re lost 4.5% to €554.40, and Hannover Re fell 4.4% to €266.60, as the California wildfires significantly reduced their profits.

Real estate company Vonovia fell 2.7% to €28.35 after issuing €1.3 billion in convertible debt, which can be converted into up to 32 million existing or new shares in the company. EFEaia/rf

The Paris Stock Exchange closed positively for the second time, with the CAC-40 index gaining 0.30%, driven by a strong start for the Nasdaq in the United States.

In a day of mixed results, which began with losses and gradually turned into gains, the benchmark index closed at 7,873.83 points.

Investors exchanged shares worth nearly 3.7 billion euros.

Automaker Stellantis led the CAC-40 with a 4.44% gain, followed by tech giant STMicroelectronics, which gained 2.87%, and rival Renault, which gained 2.53%.

At the other end of the spectrum was cosmetics group L'Oréal, which fell 2.38%, ahead of business services company Edenred, which fell 2.02%, and Veolia, which fell 1.94%.

The London Stock Exchange closed virtually flat on Tuesday, dropping a barely perceptible 0.02% on a day in which the United Kingdom recorded its highest unemployment rate in nearly four years.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported Tuesday that the UK unemployment rate rose to 4.5% between January and March, up from 4.4% between December 2024 and February of this year, marking its highest level since the summer of 2021.

In this context, the main index, the FTSE-100, better known as the 'footsie,' fell 2.06 points to 8,602.92, while the secondary index, the FTSE-250—which groups together smaller, generally British, companies—closed with a rise of 0.64%, 132.29 points, to 20,759.67.

The losses were spread across sectors, with Irish business solutions group DCC the biggest loser, down 6.51%, followed by pharmaceutical company GSK, which fell 2.97%, and alcoholic beverages manufacturer Diageo, which fell 2.71%.

On the earnings front, the international betting and gaming company Entain stood out, increasing its share value by 6.02%, while the International Airlines Group (IAG) airline consortium, which includes the Spanish airline Iberia, gained 3.53%.

Also on the list of winners was Anglo American, which gained 3.49%.

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