Europe close: Stocks mostly lower as investors wait for latest out of London talks

(Sharecast News) - European shares were modestly lower on Tuesday, as investors waited for the latest word out of the second day of US-China trade talks in London.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index drifted lower by 0.02% to 553.12 points. Germany's DAX was down 0.77% at 23,987.56.

France's Cac-40 on the other hand edged up by 0.17% to 7,804.33.

Also too, investors were waiting on a speech from US President, Donald Trump, scheduled for 2100 BST, Axel Rudolph at IG noted.

That was on top of the anxiety ahead of the release of key US consumer price figures which were slated for release on the following day.

Britain's unemployment rate ticked up in the three months to April, while wage growth eased, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics. Economists now feel this could encourage the Bank of England to cut rates again.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.6% from 4.5% in January to March, marking the highest level since July 2021. Meanwhile, growth in average weekly earnings excluding bonuses fell to 5.2% from 5.6%.

In equity news, shares in UBS fell 2% after the Swiss government published proposals that would require the bank to hold an additional $26bn of capital.

Umicore shares surged 17% after analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to 'buy' and doubled the 12-month price target to �16 for the Belgian materials tech specialist.

Safestore shares jumped 7% on the back of "robust" interim results, while UK housebuilders were also higher as Bellway lifted forecasts after a trading update.