Europe close: Stocks extend rally on hopes for peace talks
European shares were firmly higher on Tuesday as investors after reports that Moscow had pledged to significantly reduce its military activities around the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv.
And although no ceasefire agreement had yet materialised, Moscow labelled the talks "constructive" and reportedly held out the possibility of direct talks between the leaders of the two countries.
The response from Washington however was cool with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, saying that: "There is what Russia says and there is what Russia does; we’re focused on the latter.
"We have not seen signs of real seriousness."
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 1.67% at 461.75, alongside a 2.94% jump for the French Cac-40 to 6,782.97 and a 2.76% advance on the German Dax to 14,815.36.
Front month Brent crude oil futures meanwhile slipped 2.8% to trade at $109.3 per barrel on the ICE and the US dollar fell 7.1% to 87.75 against the Russian rouble.
Earlier, consultancy GfK's consumer survey revealed that consumer morale is likely to slump in April as the war in Ukraine pushed consumer expectations to their lowest since the 2009 global financial crisis.
“There is no doubt that Russia had significant business relations with Germany. Given that economic ties are on the verge of collapse between Russia and Germany,” said Avatrade analyst Naeem Aslam.
He added that German businesses were worried that sanctions imposed on Russia due to US pressure “could cost them dearly, and the current economic situation has yet to factor that in full”.
In equity news, shares in Polymetal soared 40% as the Russia-focused gold miner said it was considering changes to its corporate structure including "distinct ownership in various jurisdictions" where the company operates.
The Financial Times reported on Monday that Polymetal was debating whether to split its Russian business off to protect the its other operations from the effects of sanctions. The company could split its Russian and Kazakh businesses with separate listings.
Shares in UK house builder Bellway fell 4% despite the company announcing a big increase in its dividend and a reduction in dividend cover as the housebuilder reported an 8.9% increase in underlying first-half profit.