Europe: Stocks rally on US shutdown deal, DAX hits record

[LONDON] European shares rose to new highs on Tuesday after US senators struck a deal to end a three-day government shutdown, while earnings updates were also in focus.

Euro zone stocks reached their highest in a decade, with Germany's DAX jumping to a fresh record of just over 13,596 points. The DAX ended 0.7 per cent higher, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed the session up 0.1 per cent.

"As the next goal, the bulls have the hurdle of 14,000 points in mind," said market analyst Milan Cutkovic at trading house AxiTrader. "With the current mood on the stock markets, this is a realistic scenario for the coming weeks." After a previous session fueled by M&A news, corporate updates maintained the buoyant mood.

Investors cheered plans by Europe's biggest retailer Carrefour to slash costs, open its loss-making Chinese business to new investors and spend more heavily on e-commerce in the face of competition from Amazon.

Carrefour touched a five-month high with a 3.2 per cent rise. Bernstein analysts said the strategic plan "ticks all the right boxes".

Shares in computer peripherals and mobile speaker maker Logitech were the biggest gainers, jumping 8 per cent after it reported better than expected sales and raised its guidance.

Easyjet was another strong riser, up 5.1 per cent, after reporting first-quarter results.

"A strong performance for new boss Johan Lundgren in his first quarter as easyJet benefited from a combination of Ryanair cancellations and the demise of a trio of peers removing some capacity from the market", senior ETX market analyst Neil Wilson commented.

Sky shares were up 2.3 per cent after a UK regulator said Fox buying Sky was not in the public interest because of media plurality concerns, but suggested remedies.

The regulator CMA also backed Fox's commitment to broadcasting standards.

"Concerns on broadcasting standards would likely have been a complete deal breaker," said Neil Campling, Co-Head of the Global Thematic Group at Mirabaud Securities.

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air rose 5.3 per cent after saying it was interested in Italy's struggling flag carrier Alitalia but only regarding short and medium-haul routes.

Online grocery technology provider Ocado inched a further 0.9 per cent after a 27 per cent surge on Monday when it unveiled a deal with Canada's second-largest food supermarket group Sobeys.

REUTERS