The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany fell 3.4 points from a month earlier to -24.5 in July 2019, the lowest reading since last October and below market expectations of -22.3. The continued negative trend in incoming orders in the German industry is likely to have reinforced the financial market experts’ pessimistic sentiment, while the Iran conflict and the ongoing trade dispute between the US and China are weighing on the global economic outlook. Meanwhile, the assessment of the economic situation in Germany worsened by 8.9 points to a current reading of -1.1.

The FTSE 100 rose 45 points, or 0.6% to 7,577 on Tuesday after the pound weakened to a 27-month low following comments from both runners to UK prime minister suggesting an exit from the EU on October 31st with or without a deal. A pick-up in Burberry first-quarter sales also lifted sentiment. Meanwhile, other major European stocks closed higher: the DAX 30 gained 44 points, or 0.4% to 12,431; the CAC 40 climbed 36 points, or 0.7%; the IBEX 35 surged 54 points, or 0.6% to 9,377 and the FTSE MIB went up 26 points, or 0.1% to 22,204.

The NAHB Housing Market Index in the United States increased to 65 in July of 2019 from 64 in the previous month and above market expectations of 64. The sub-index for current single-family home edged up to 72 from 71 in June; the gauge for home sales over the next six months rose to 71 from 70; and the sub-index for prospective buyers increased to 48 from 47.

US business inventories rose 0.3 percent from a month earlier in May 2019, following a 0.5 percent advance in April and matching market expectations. Stocks at retailers increased 0.4 percent (vs 0.6 percent in April), as well as those at wholesalers (vs 0.8 percent in April) while inventories at manufacturers rose 0.2 percent, the same pace as in the previous month. Year-on-year, business inventories increased 5.3 percent in May.

US industrial output was unchanged in June 2019, following a 0.4 percent growth in May and missing market forecasts of a 0.1 percent gain. Increases for both manufacturing and mining offset a decline for utilities. For the second quarter as a whole, industrial production declined at an annual rate of 1.2 percent, its second consecutive quarterly decrease.

The dollar index rose near 0.4% on Tuesday on lower concerns regarding consumer spending easing, after fresh data from the Commerce Department showed bigger-than-expected retail trade growth in June.

US stocks opened little changed on Tuesday morning despite better-than-expected second-quarter earnings results from Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, while data showed solid increases in retail trade and manufacturing output during June. The Dow Jones gained 0.1% to 27,376; the S&P500 traded near the flat line at 3,013; while the Nasdaq lost 0.1% to 8,253 around 15 minutes after the opening bell.

The Euro weakened against the USD on Tuesday, after the ZEW economic sentiment survey in Germany showed investor’s morale deteriorated more than expected to its lowest since October last year. The currency fell as much as 0.3% to 1.122 around 08:30 am New York time.

Export prices in the US fell 0.7 percent from a month earlier in June of 2019, following a 0.2 percent decrease in the previous month and worse than market expectations of a 0.2 percent drop. It is largest monthly drop since November of 2018 when it declined by 0.8 percent. Prices for nonagricultural exports slumped 1.1 percent (vs -0.2 percent in May), the largest monhly decrease since last December as lower prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials more than offset higher prices for capital goods and consumer goods. Prices for agricultural exports increased 2.7 percent in June (vs-1.1 percent in May), led by a 13.5 percent rise in corn prices and a 5.0 percent increase in soybean prices; higher fruit, wheat, and nut prices also contributed to the overall rise in agricultural prices. Year-on-year, export prices decreased 1.6 percent, the largest decline since August of 2016.