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Paris - European stocks pared their decline on Tuesday after UK Prime Minister Theresa May laid out her intentions on Brexit while supporting a strong European Union.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 0.1% at 14:37, recovering from a 0.7% slide earlier, still held lower by declines in mining and automaker stocks.
May ruled out continued membership in the single market, while saying that she doesn’t want the EU to unravel following her nation’s vote to leave last June. The government will put the final Brexit deal to a vote in Parliament, she said in a speech to diplomats in London on Tuesday.
The FTSE 100 slipped as May spoke while the FTSE 250 of more-domestically focused stocks trimmed losses.
Shares had retreated before her speech as news reports said she would say the UK will quit bloc. US President-elect Donald Trump has suggested other countries may follow it out of the bloc. She said today the exit would be “smooth” and “orderly.”
Despite worries over Brexit, sentiment toward European stocks is improving, according to a fund manager survey from Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. Global fund-manager allocations to eurozone equities rose to a net 17% overweight from a net 1% underweight last month, BofAML strategists wrote in note.
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