With the right, the European markets started in February

European stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the indicators drawing momentum from the strong results of the Swiss UBS and the encouraging data for the course of the processing.

In particular, the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.3% and closed at 474.86 points, starting with the right in February after the heavy losses of the previous month. January turned out to be the worst month since October 2020, as worries about upcoming US interest rate hikes, inflationary pressures and geopolitical tensions led to a 4% dip in the index.

The financial sector gained 2.1% today, drawing a boost from UBS after announcing the best annual profits from the global financial crisis. The title of the largest Swiss bank jumped 8% in the aftermath of the results and climbed to a four-year high.

Meanwhile, data released today showed that manufacturing activity strengthened in January as supply chain disruptions eased, although inflationary pressures remained strong. In particular, the IHS Markit manufacturing index climbed to a five-month high of 58.7 points in January, up from 58 points in December.

The news for the labor market was also encouraging, with the unemployment rate falling to 7% in December from 7.1% in November, according to data released today by Eurostat.

On the board, the German DAX rose 1% to 15,619.39 points, the French CAC 40 strengthened 1.4% to 7,099.49 points, while the British FTSE 100 gained 1% and closed at 7,535.78 points.

In the periphery, the Italian FTSE MIB jumped 1.5%, while the Spanish IBEX 35 gained 1.3%.

Investors are now preparing for the European Central Bank and Bank of England meetings on Thursday which are being held with inflation having climbed to multi-year highs, both in the Eurozone and in the UK.

Despite the high inflation, the ECB is expected to keep a wait-and-see attitude, keeping its interest rates unchanged, while the Bank of England may raise its interest rates again in an effort to tame inflationary pressures.