Bayer shares pop 12% after Trump administration backs curbing of Roundup lawsuits; European stocks close higher

European stocks ticked higher on Tuesday, with shares struggling to find momentum after a broad sell-off marked the first day of the new month.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the trading session just above the flatline, with all major regional bourses in mixed territory.

Utilities stocks were among those seeing the biggest gains in Europe on Tuesday, with the index adding around 0.6% in early afternoon trade. The sector is widely seen as a stable bet in times of market turbulence.

Winners in the index included wind energy giant Orsted, up 3%, and electric utilities firm EDP, which ended the session 1.7% higher.

Elsewhere, the FTSE 350 Banks index pared earlier gains to add more than 0.1%, after the Bank of England trimmed its estimate — for the first time in a decade — of how much capital banks operating in the U.K. need as a buffer.

The central bank also said all of the U.K.’s major banks had passed its stress tests, which simulates economic shocks and their potential impact on lenders.

“The results of the 2025 Bank Capital Stress Test indicate that the UK banking system would be able to continue to support the economy even if economic conditions turn out materially worse than expected,” the Bank of England said in its report on the results.

British banks notching the biggest gains on Tuesday included Metro Bank, up 1.3%, and Lloyds Banking Group, last seen trading also 1.3% higher.

Tuesday’s moves follow a gloomy start to the last trading month of the year in which investors are now expecting the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates when it meets on Dec. 9-10. Traders are pricing in an 87.2% chance of a quarter-point rate cut, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

The Bank of England is also closely monitoring the Fed for any potential spillover effects, Megan Greene, who sits on the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England, told CNBC Monday.

“About half the moves in our curve actually are generated entirely outside the U.K.,” Greene told CNBC’s Ritika Gupta on Monday.