LONDON: European stock markets closed on Tuesday with mixed results as investors balanced mostly gloomy eurozone economic data against growing hopes of an interest rate cut from the European Central Bank, dealers said.
London's FTSE 100 index of top companies gave up 0.43 percent to 6,430.12 points, the Paris CAC 40 slid 0.31 percent to 3,856.75 and Madrid's IBEX 35 slipped 0.38 percent to 8,419.
On the upside, Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.51 percent to 7,913.71 points, boosted by resilient German labour market and consumer confidence figures.
The euro hit a two-week peak at $1.3186 before settling back to $1.3171, which was still a gain from $1.3097 late on Monday in New York.
On secondary government debt markets, French 10-year bonds traded at one point at a record low yield of 1.695 percent, before edging back up to 1.709 percent in late trade.
On Wall Street, US stocks traded in positive territory for the most part in midday exchanges after a disappointing earnings report from Dow member Pfizer depressed the blue-chip index at the opening.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained off by a slight 0.03 percent at 14,813.68 however.
The broad-based S&P 500 had edged up by 0.08 percent to 1,594.87, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was 0.33 percent higher at 3,318.08.
As they mulled European data, investors awaited the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.
"The markets are discounting a cut in rates by the ECB given the downbeat economic data out of the eurozone," VTB Capital economist Neil MacKinnon told AFP.
"With the Fed likely to stay accommodative, equity markets can take encouragement despite a backdrop of economic uncertainty generally."
Eurozone unemployment hit a fresh record of 12.1 percent in March, official data showed, with 19.2 million people on the dole as recession continued to sap the economy.
The Eurostat data agency said an extra 62,000 people became unemployed in the 17-nation eurozone, with the jobless rate climbing for the 23rd consecutive month.
In the full 27-member EU, a total 26.5 million people were out of work in March, or 10.9 percent, as 69,000 more workers signed up for benefits.
"European unemployment data arrived in line with expectations which were set suitably low, and serve to remind us of the disparity in risk asset prices and macroeconomic conditions," CMC Markets analyst Matt Basi commented.
Data also showed that inflation across the 17-state eurozone eased in April to 1.2 percent, comfortably below the ECB's target of close-to-but-below two percent.
But in another heavy blow, separate data showed that Spain's economy shrank 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2013, as a job-destroying recession gripped the nation.
Back in London meanwhile, BP shares jumped 2.11 percent to 466.4 pence after the British energy giant said net profits almost tripled in the first quarter of 2013, boosted by the sale of its stake in Russian joint venture TNK-BP.
Earnings after tax surged to $16.86 billion (12.87 billion euros) in the three months to the end of March, compared with $5.77 billion in the same period of 2012.
In the bank sector, partly nationalised Lloyds Banking Group revealed that it returned to profit in the first quarter on the back of higher income, deep cost-cutting and lower charges to account for decreased values of assets.
In reaction, Lloyds shares rallied 1.55 percent to 54.33 pence and rival state-rescued lender Royal Bank of Scotland added 4.18 percent to 306.3 pence.
Asian equities mostly rose on Tuesday following another record close on Wall Street the day before, while sentiment was also boosted by news that a new government had finally been formed in Italy after months of deadlock.
Tokyo fell 0.17 percent however, while Seoul rose 1.20 percent, Sydney jumped 1.28 percent and Hong Kong added 0.69 percent. Shanghai was closed for a public holiday.
<Center><b><i>Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2013</b></i></center>
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