Europe midday: Shares rally from morning lows

(Sharecast News) - European shares rallied on Tuesday as hopes that tariff threats from the incoming US administration may not be as severe as first feared. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.21% with most major bourses rebounding except for Britain's FTSE 100, which was down 0.28%.

According to a report in the Washington Post, aides to president-elect Trump were exploring tariff plans that would only cover key imports, although Trump later denied this was the case.

In economic news, eurozone inflation rose again in December to 2.4% on an annual basis, according to a flash estimate published on Tuesday, the third successive monthly rise.

The figure, in line with expectations, compared with 2.2% in November and October's 2%. The rise was driven by energy prices, said the European Union's statistical agency Eurostat.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile items such as energy and food prices, held steady at 2.7%. Services inflation grew slightly to 4%, while energy costs were up 0.1%, compared with a 2% fall in November.

UK house prices fell in December 2024 for the first time since March but ended the year in the black, according to data released by Halifax

House prices declined 0.2% on the month following five consecutive monthly increases, and 1.2% growth in November.

On an annual basis, prices were up 3.3%, down from 4.7% growth in November and leaving the average price of a home at £297,166.

On the equities front, shares in Sodexo fell sharply despite the French food services firm reporting a rise in first-quarter organic revenue growth and holding full-year fiscal guidance.

Next shares gained as the UK fashion retailer lifted guidance yet again but warmed of a slowdown in growth due to higher wage and national insurance costs.

German industrial company Kion surged after announcing a warehouse technology deal with Accenture and chip giant Nvidia.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com