12:09 PM EST, 02/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed mostly higher in Tuesday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.39%, Germany's DAX gained 0.29%, the FTSE 100 in London was off 0.01%, France's CAC 40 was up 0.21%, and the Swiss Market Index increased 0.15%.

In the UK, the unemployment rate for people aged 16 years and over was estimated at 4.4% between October and December, according to the Office for National Statistics, which said it was above estimates of a year ago, and up in the most recent quarter.

Consumer sentiment in UK rose to 45.4 in February from 43.6 the previous month on the S&P Global UK Consumer Sentiment Index, which was released Monday. Despite the increase, the reading was the second-lowest level of confidence in the past 10 months.

In France, the consumer price index increased by 0.2% in January from December, and rose 1.7% from a year earlier, according to the Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies.

In Germany, the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany rose to 26.0 points in February, a 15.7 points rise from January. It was the highest increase in two years.

"Shortly before the day of the federal election, economic expectations have clearly improved in February," ZEW President Achim Wambach said in a statement. "This rising optimism is probably due to hopes for a new German government capable of action."

And in corporate news, French IT consulting firm Capgemini fell 10% in Paris after it reported Tuesday a 1.9% decline in revenue for 2024.

HSBC has laid off about 40 investment bankers in Hong Kong as part of a global restructuring program to reduce costs, Reuters reported Tuesday citing people with knowledge of the matter. HSBC did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment on the matter.

BHP Group reported Tuesday fiscal H1 underlying earnings of $1.00 per share, down from $1.30 per share a year earlier. Revenue for the six months ended Dec. 31 was $25.18 billion, down from $27.23 billion a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $25.09 billion. The company's board also approved an interim dividend of $0.50 per share, payable March 27 to shareholders as of March 7.