Europe: Industrials, banks lift shares as reflation trade heats up

[BENGALURU] A jump in industrial, financial and mining stocks lifted European shares on Tuesday as investors bought into sectors set to benefit from a steady economic recovery, while France's Rexel rose on lifting its 2021 sales forecast.

The French electrical parts supplier's shares jumped 3.4 per cent to the top of the Stoxx 600 and said it expected same-day sales growth of between 12 per cent and 15 per cent, compared with its previous forecast of between 5 per cent and 7 per cent.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.5 per cent, with industrials, banks and miners gaining between 0.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent.

Optimism around a steady economic recovery has put the European benchmark on course for its fifth straight month of gains, but it has recently struggled to break above its all-time closing high hit on June 16 on concerns of the global spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Still, travel-related stocks recovered on Tuesday after sliding to a one-month low in the previous session following reports of a potential ban on UK travellers in Germany.

London's domestically focussed FTSE 250 index was up 0.3 per cent, while housebuilders jumped 1.1 per cent as data on Tuesday showed British house prices jumped by the most in more than 16 years in June.

REUTERS