By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks rose Tuesday, with major
indexes starting the second quarter with gains as data showed the
euro zone's manufacturing sector remains on a path to recovery.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.5% to 335.71, adding to an advance
on Monday's that left the benchmark up 1.8% for the first
quarter.
Market-research firm Markit reported a final March reading of
53.0 for its euro-zone manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index,
unchanged from a previous estimate released last week. French
manufacturing returned to expansion with a level of 52.1, compared
with 49.7 in February -- the strongest reading since June 2011.
"While the [euro-zone] survey paints a picture of a
manufacturing recovery that is broad-based, with output rising in
all countries surveyed for the second month running, the slight
easing in the rate of new-order inflows raises the risk of
production growth weakening further in April," said Chris
Williamson, chief economist at Markit, in a statement.
France's CAC 40 pushed up 0.5% to 4,414.54 and reached an
intraday high following the data. Leading price performers on the
index were shares of Alstom SA , up by 5.7% after the engineering
conglomerate said it sold part of its steam-power business to
investment fund Triton for an enterprise value of roughly 730
million euros ($1 billion).
Earlier in Asia, HSBC's monthly Chinese manufacturing reading
fell for a third straight month in March, conflicting with China's
official PMI, which signaled an expansion in the factory sector.
But some analysts said much of the data reflect economic
restructuring by China as it seeks more-sustainable growth.
On the Stoxx Europe 600 index, miners were higher, with a 2.6%
climb in shares of BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) . The mining-sector
heavyweight said it may further overhaul its portfolio to focus on
up to five key commodities.
BHP's share-price rise also helped the U.K.'s FTSE 100 move
higher, by 0.4% to 6,624.26.
Germany's DAX 30 bounced up 0.5% to 9,598.62.
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