Mucahithan Avcioglu
17 February 2026•Update: 17 February 2026
ISTANBUL
European stocks closed higher on the second trading day of the week, driven by a recovery in global markets and technology-focused optimism.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.45%, or 2.77 points, to close Tuesday at 621.29.
Germany's DAX 40 index was up 0.8% to end at 24,998.4 points, while the UK's FTSE 100 climbed 0.79% to 10,556.17.
France's CAC 40 rose 0.54% to 8,361.46, and Spain's IBEX 35 also gained 0.6% to end the day at 17,955.4 points.
Italy's FTSE MIB index increased 0.76% to close at 45,764.07 points.
The most significant corporate development of the day in European markets came from the German pharmaceutical and agricultural chemicals company Bayer. The company said its subsidiary Monsanto had proposed a class settlement of up to $7.25 billion to settle claims that the Roundup weedkiller causes blood cancer.
Following this critical development, Bayer shares gained 7%, becoming the top performer on the DAX.
Markets largely ignored weakness in macroeconomic data, focusing instead on corporate news and potential AI-driven growth.
The European Centre for Economic Research (ZEW) announced that its February Economic Sentiment Index fell by 1.3 points to 58.3, contrary to expectations.
In Germany, the January consumer price index (CPI) rose from 1.8% to 2.1% year-on-year, driven by increases in food and services.
