Europe markets close narrowly higher after euro zone inflation falls below target

European stocks eke out gain

European stocks reversed course late in the session on Tuesday to close marginally higher, with the Stoxx 600 index provisionally eking out a 0.01% gain.

Major bourses were all in the green, with Germany’s DAX up 0.64%, France’s CAC 40 up 0.33% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 up 0.13%.

The euro dropped 0.56% against the U.S. dollar after data showed inflation in the euro zone eased to a cooler-than-forecast 1.9% in May, below the European Central Bank’s 2% target. The figures supported expectations for a 25-basis-point rate cut by the ECB at its meeting on Thursday, with some economists suggesting a follow-up rate cut in June now looks more likely.

Tomorrow we’ll be monitoring talks between European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who are due to meet in Paris around 9 a.m. local time. It’s also the day U.S. President Donald Trump’s hastily announced hike in duties on steel imports to 50% — expected to fuel domestic inflation and rock the struggling European steel industry — will come into effect.

CNBC will be broadcasting from SuperReturn in Berlin, one of the world’s largest gatherings of the private equity industry, with guests including Carlyle’s Head of Global Credit Mark Jenkins and Bain’s EMEA private equity head Alexander Schmitz. See you then.

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