Europe close: Growth fears ease despite mixed data

Stocks on the Continent bounced back despite a mixed set of economic data, with global growth fears - stoked by recent sharp falls in US government bond yields - apparently easing.

"European markets have managed to stabilise, following their US counterparts higher as growth fears subside," said Joshua Mahony at IG.

Nonetheless, healthcare stocks were among the strongest areas in the market, betraying certain caution on the part of market participants, although commodity stocks were also higher alongside.

By the end of trading, the benchmark Stoxx 600 had added 0.77% to 377.20, alongside a gain of 0.89% to 5,307.38 for the Cac-40 and an advance of 0.38% to 21,139.40 on the FTSE Mibtel.

In parallel, front month Brent crude oil futures rallied, rising 0.77% to $67.73 a barrel on the ICE, as global growth fears eased and amid the ongoing political tensions in Venezuela.

From a sector standpoint, the Stoxx 600's gauge of Healthcare companies paced gains, advancing by 1.53% to 786.38, together with a gain of 0.80% for an index tied to Oil&Gas companies' shares.

Sterling meanwhile added 0.44% versus the single currency to trade at 1.1714, amid reports that perhaps the lead Brexiteer, Jacob Rees-Mogg might support the British Prime Minister's plans for withdrawing from the European Union, even as the DUP in Northern Ireland continued to withhold its support.

The latest economic reports out on Tuesday were mixed.

A sub-index for German consumer sentiment weakened unexpectedly in April, consultancy GFK said, from a downwardly-revised print of 10.7 for March (Preliminary: 10.8) to 10.4 in April (consensus: 10.8).

Despite that weak print, Claus Vistesen at Pantheon Macroeconomics said the survey results continued to point to a rebound in consumer spend over the next few quarters, following the "sharp" slowdown seen over the preceding three to four quarters.

"However, the savings rate has to stop climbing at its present rate," he added, pointing out that at 10.7% of Germans' disposable in the last quarter of 2018 it had reached its highest level since the height of the last financial crisis roughly a decade before.

Elsewhere, French business sentiment picked up a bit in March, according to INSEE, but not in manufacturing.

The agency's main business confidence gauge rose from a reading of 103 for February to 104 in March (consensus: 103), but a separate sub-index for manufacturing slipped from 103 to 102 (consensus: 103).