Europe close: Shares get a jolt to extend rally late in session

(Sharecast News) - European shares rallied at the close as a positive start on US markets boosted sentiment late in the session on the back of a softer jobs report that raised hopes of an easing in pricing pressures.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.97% higher at 459.83. Britain's FTSE 100 outperformed with a 1.72% gain after a public holiday on Monday, while Asian markets rallied for a second day in a row, after China unveiled strategic measures to boost its stock markets, such as a cut in stamp duty and the loosening of margin loan rules.

"Commodity giants have jumped higher as metals prices have risen after Beijing introduced support for transport, property and infrastructure projects. For now this extra help has boosted sentiment but underlying questions still remain over the fragility of China's economy," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

In the US, the number of job openings at US companies declined in July, according to data released on Tuesday.

In seasonally-adjusted terms, the number of job openings fell to 8.827m from 9.165m in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS. This marked the lowest openings total since March 2021 and was below the 9.465m expected by economists.

The figures also showed that the number of new hires fell to 5.773m from 5.94m, while quits declined to 3.549m from 3.802m. Layoffs ticked up to 1.555m from 1.551m.

Quits are seen by some economists as a useful gauge of employees' confidence of their ability to find alternate employment on better conditions and hence of the underlying robustness of the jobs market.

In European economic news, German consumer sentiment is expected to deteriorate next month amid high inflation, according to a survey released on Tuesday by market research group GfK.

GfK's forward-looking consumer sentiment index for September fell to -25.5 from -24.6 in August, coming in below consensus expectations for a reading of -24.3.

The survey showed that income expectations suffered another small setback in August, with the index down 6.4 points from July to -11.5. Meanwhile, the index for the propensity to buy declined 2.7 points to -17 points.

In equity news, NN Group surged 10% after posting a strong first-half earnings report.

French retailer Carrefour fell after its CEO warned that French consumers are massively cutting back on essential purchases due to high prices.

Distribution specialist Bunzl made gains after lifting its annual adjusted operating profit forecast and posting a rise in first-half profits.

Telecom Italia added 2.3% after Milan approved two decrees providing for the economy ministry to take a stake of up to 20% in the phone group's landline grid.

Britvic shares were up as Barclay upgraded its stance on the shares of Britvic and lifted its target price by 10%, saying the "stars are aligning" for the soft drinks maker.

In equity markets, housebuilders were on the rise following reports that the government would ease planning rules. Persimmon, Barratt, Taylor Wimpey, Crest Nicholson and Vistry all advanced.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com