Europe markets close slightly higher, led by travel stocks

LONDON — European markets closed slightly higher on Tuesday, as travel stocks led gains.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended 0.23% higher after a choppy session.

Travel stocks led the pack, up 0.9%, with airline Easyjet and travel group Tui higher by 6.6% and 5% respectively.

The sector was boosted by comments from Michael O'Leary, CEO of low-cost carrier Ryanair, who told Reuters he expected fares to fall by around 5% in the crucial July-September quarter, versus a previous expectation of a more-than 10% decline. Ryanair's Dublin-listed shares closed 4.66% higher.

Softness seen between April and June appears to have leveled out and consumers are showing a willingness to pay higher fares, O'Leary said.

Mining stocks closed 0.76% higher and copper prices hit a near-six-week high on Tuesday, with three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange last up 1.73%, trading at $9,449 per metric ton.

It comes after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday gave his strongest indication yet that the central bank would cut interest rates at its Sept. 18 meeting. Lower rates tend to boost demand for commodities like metals.

Investors also continued to weigh geopolitical risks after Israel and Hezbollah traded strikes over the weekend, raising fears about a wider conflict in the Middle East. The uncertainty sent oil prices higher on Monday, but gains pared back on Tuesday.

Brent crude futures were last down by 1.68% to $80.06 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude declined by 1.6% to $76.16 a barrel.

On the data front in Europe, Germany's statistics office on Tuesday released a final reading of the country's second-quarter gross domestic product, saying that it fell by 0.1% from the previous quarter, in line with preliminary