European Equities Close Mostly Higher in Tuesday Trading; EU, US Trade Deal Dampens German Economic Sentiment

12:10 PM EDT, 08/12/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed mostly higher in Tuesday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.24%, the FTSE 100 was up 0.20%, France's CAC gained 0.71%, the Swiss Market Index increased 0.14%, while Germany's DAX was off 0.13%

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment in Germany decreased 18 points in August from July to 34.7 points after increasing for several consecutive months. The assessment of the current economic situation has also declined.

"Financial market experts are disappointed from the announced EU-US trade deal," ZEW President Achim Wambach said in a statement. "The outlook has worsened in particular for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The mechanical engineering and metal sectors as well as the automotive industry are also severely affected."

Hang Seng Bank, HSBC's Hong Kong lender, had a non-performing loan ratio of 6.7% at the end of June, an all-time high, FT said, citing data compiled by Goldman Sachs.

HSBC Chief Executive Georges Elhedery said the bank's real estate clients in Hong Kong were working "through some short-term challenges," but the bank was confident "in the supply and demand dynamic in Hong Kong and the appeal of Hong Kong real estate at large" in the medium to long term," the report said.

HSBC did not immediately reply to a request for MT Newswires.

Shares of the British financial services company were up 0.55% in London.

And in corporate news, HSBC's commercial real estate loans marked as having increased credit risk had almost tripled since the start of the year, with those classified as "impaired" rising to $5.1 billion from $4.5 billion, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.

This means that 73% of the bank's commercial real estate loans either are impaired or have increased credit risk, up from less than 30% a year ago, according to the report.

Rayonier Advanced Materials said Tuesday it filed petitions with the US government alleging that Brazilian and Norwegian manufacturers are selling high-purity dissolving pulp in the US at "unfair prices, below fair market value or based on government subsidies."

The dumping margins are as high as 168% for Brazil and 226% for Norway, and the petitions also identify 30 Brazilian government programs that may be providing subsidies, according to a statement.

The US Department of Commerce will investigate whether dumping and subsidization are occurring, and the US International Trade Commission will determine whether the US industry is suffering material injury as a result, Rayonier said. If both agencies make affirmative findings, duties will be imposed, the company said.

VEON said Tuesday its Ukrainian unit Kyivstar has completed the first Starlink Direct to Cell satellite connectivity test in Eastern Europe.

The company said the test conducted in the Zhytomyr region used 4G smartphones to send messages directly via Starlink satellites without terrestrial network access.

VEON said Kyivstar plans to launch the service commercially in Ukraine in Q4, starting with messaging.

VEON American Depositary Receipts were up 3.3%.

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