European indices close higher. German Dax shares rise despite lower ZEW confidence

The European equity indices closed higher on the day. For the German Dax it rose despite weaker than expected German Dax indices. The ZEW Economic Sentiment Index for Germany fell sharply to -14.0 in April, down from 51.6 in March and well below the market expectation of 9.5. This marks a significant deterioration in forward-looking investor confidence.

However, the assessment of current conditions showed modest improvement, with the index rising to -81.2 from -87.6 in the previous month, slightly better than the forecast of -86.8.

Concerns about the tariff situation was also ignored. EU officials were reportedly saying that they expect tariffs to remain as talks with the US are making little progress.

A look at the closing levels:

• German Dax +1.43%
• France’s CAC +0.86%
• UKs FTSE 100 +1.41%
• Spain’s Ibex + 2.14%
• Italys FTSE MIB +2.39%

For each of the major indices they moved above and closed above their 100 hour MAs.

• German Dax closed at 21253.71 above the 100-hour MA at 20947.96
• France’s CAC closed at 7138.41 above the 100-hour MA at 7318.99
• UK FTSE 100 closed at 8349.11 above the 100- hour MA at 8137.74
• Spain’s Ibex closed at 12879.30 above the 100-hour MA at 12543
• Italy’s FTSE MIB closed at 35843.81 above the 100 hour MA at 35247.62

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.