EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Swing Higher, Brush Past Gloomy Data From Germany, China

Euro knocked below $1.18; Pandora logs worst session in 6 years

European stocks finished Tuesday's session at a roughly two-week high, as a drop in the euro helped regional equities push past disappointing trade data from Germany and China that cast doubt on the prospects for those powerhouse economies.

Meanwhile, Danish jeweler Pandora A/S was among the companies whose shares were yanked down after earnings reports.

The Stoxx Europe 600 closed up a modest 0.2% at 382.65, but scored its strongest finish since July 26, according to FactSet data.

The index part of the session darting between small gains and losses, but gains accelerated in afternoon trade after the euro was pushed below $1.18 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-lower-just-1-off-15-month-lows-hit-ahead-of-strong-jobs-report-2017-08-08). That move came as the dollar advanced following a U.S. job-openings report that beat expectations.

A stronger euro can weigh on European stocks on the prospect that revenue and profit made by European exporters would be pinched by the shared currency's higher value. The euro dropped to $1.1730 after trading as high as $1.1826 intraday.

More German gloom: European stocks had a hard time gaining traction early Tuesday after figures from Germany showed exports fell by 2.8% on the month in June (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-exports-fall-for-first-time-in-2017-2017-08-08), the first decline in exports this year. Imports also dropped, but at a faster rate of 4.5%, which meant the trade surplus widened slightly.

But the Germany's DAX 30 joined other European markets in rising during the session, and ended up 0.3% at 12,292.05.

Germany's trade data follow Monday's report of an unexpected decline in industrial output (industrial%20output%20in%20Europe%e2%80%99s%20largest%20economy%20surprisingly%20fell%20at%20the%20end%20of%20the%20second%20quarter,%20data%20from%20Germany%e2%80%99s%20Economics%20Ministry%20showed.) at the end of the second quarter in Europe's largest economy.

Read:German economy seen as growing despite export drop (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-economy-seen-as-growing-despite-export-drop-2017-08-08)

Chinese burn: Meanwhile, Chinese trade data (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-export-growth-slows-but-up-for-5th-month-2017-08-08) published Tuesday showed July exports and imports grew at a slower pace than in recent months. The readings were lower than expected.

"This news is a mixed bag for...metals, as it falls into the camp of the monetary policy doves of the world, which is bullish for...metals. However, China is the world's largest raw commodity importer, and less demand for commodities from China is bearish," Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com, wrote in a note.

But mining stocks on Tuesday largely pared losses or turned outright higher.

Iron-ore producer Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) (RIO) (RIO) fell 0.3%. Copper miner Antofagasta PLC (ANTO.LN) reversed losses and closed up 0.6%, keying off gains of around 1% for dollar-denominated copper prices . Steel maker ArcelorMittal SA (MT) ended up 0.4% after earlier losing ground.

Stock movers: Pandora shares (PNDORA.KO) tumbled 13.7%, the worst session since August 2011. The jewelry retailer said quarterly net profit fell 10% to 1.1 billion Danish kroner (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pandora-pays-110-million-to-enter-spain-directly-2017-08-08), below expectations of 1.24 billion kroner. The company also said it would pay 110 million euros to buy the distribution rights for its jewelry in Spain, Gibraltar and Andorra.

InterContinental Hotels shares (IHG) (IHG) dropped 4% on concerns about slower room-revenue growth. First-half pretax profit rose 9.4% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/intercontinental-hotels-profit-raises-dividend-2017-08-08), and the company, whose brands include Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, raised its interim dividend by 10%.

Standard Life PLC (SL.LN) finished off session lows but closed down 0.3% after the financial services company posted a 14% decline in first-half pretax profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/standard-life-profit-drops-14-hikes-dividend-2017-08-08), hurt by a fall in revenue and investment returns. Standard Life did raise its interim dividend to 7 pence a share.

National indexes: France's CAC 40 index ended up 0.2% at 5,218.89, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 marked at 0.1% gain at 7,542.73 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-pulls-back-from-2-month-high-as-miners-lose-ground-2017-08-08). The index during the session traded above its all-time closing high.

Spain's IBEX 35 claimed at 0.6% rise to end at 10,734.70.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 08, 2017 12:44 ET (16:44 GMT)