By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks rose Tuesday, leaving
the regional equity index at its best level in more than six
years.
Shedding earlier losses, the Stoxx Europe 600 moved up 0.3% to
349.71. The index's fifth consecutive rise marked its highest close
since Jan. 8, 2008, according to FactSet data.
Stock benchmarks across Europe have reached multiyear or record
highs recently in anticipation and in response to a range of
monetary easing measures launched last week by the European Central
Bank, which has been grappling with low levels of inflation and
lackluster economic growth in the euro area.
Italy's FTSE MIB Italy Index rose 0.3% to 22,502.97, its best
close since February 2011, and Germany's DAX 30 ended up 0.2% at a
record close of 10,028.80, topped by a 2% rise for potash producer
K&S AG .
European Central Bank Governing Council member Jens Weidmann
told German newspaper Boersen-Zeitung that the latest round of
actions -- including bringing interest rates into negative
territory -- breaks "new ground" for the bank, and that the moves
were aimed at reaching the real economy, according to Reuters.
Industrial output readings from Italy and France gave investors
a glimpse of conditions seen at the start of the second quarter.
Production in Italy rose at a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.7% in
April, above the 0.4% rise expected in a Dow Jones Newswires survey
of economists. French industrial production rose 0.3% in April,
rebounding from contraction in March.
Meanwhile, manufacturing output in the U.K. rose in April from
March, by 0.4%, reinforcing the view that recovery in the British
economy remains on track.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index , however, slipped less than 2 points
to 6,873.55, with BT PLC losing 2.4% as rival British Sky
Broadcasting Group outlined the launch of its first European soccer
channel.
Logging the steepest decline on the Stoxx 600 was Bank of
Ireland . The stock fell 3.2% after the lender said U.S.
billionaire investor Wilbur Ross Jr. will sell his remaining stake
in the company and has resigned as a director.
Booker Group PLC was also hit, falling 2.2% after Goldman Sachs
dropped the food wholesaler from its pan-Europe conviction buy
list.
Sports Direct International PLC was also removed from Goldman's
European conviction buy list "as the upside to our target price is
now lower following a period of good performance. We have higher
conviction elsewhere in the European retail sector as a result,"
said analysts at Goldman. Sports Direct shares ended 1.2%
lower.
In France, the CAC 40 shrugged off losses and rose 0.1% to
4,595.00, its fourth advance in a row. Spain's IBEX 35 lost grip of
gains and fell 0.1% to 11,153.50.
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