European shares edge up as oil rallies

European stocks rose, boosted by gains in energy producers and a recovery in shares most hurt in the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump’s win. Bond-proxy sectors including utilities and real estate shares advanced as a global debt sell-off spurred by bets on economic growth abated.

Energy shares rebounded from their lowest level since September after Opec nations were said to be working towards securing a deal that would stabilise prices.

DUBLIN

The Iseq fell marginally to 6,259, slightly underperforming indices elsewhere. Bank of Ireland was one of the main fallers, dropping 2.6 per cent to 22 cents with over 100 million shares traded.

The stock has been on something of a rally since the election of Donald Trump in the United States. One trader said the rally simply ran out of steam.

Iseq heavyweight CRH was another to lose ground after a sequence of strong sessions. The building materials giant traded down 0.9 per cent at €32.21.

Ryanair, meanwhile, rose to 1.5 per cent €14.31, tracking trends in the sector, which was buoyed by numbers from EasyJet, which turned out to not be as bad as expected.

Property reits – Ires, Hibernia and Green – all fell amid suggestions the potential inflow of business here from Brexit may be overblown. Hotel group Dalata rose nearly 3 per cent to €4.30.

LONDON

Britain’s top share index advanced for a second straight day on Tuesday, with energy shares tracking a rally in crude oil while supermarket stocks gained after encouraging industry data.

Retail stocks were among the top risers, with Britain's biggest supermarket chain, Tesco, jumping 5.4 per cent after data from Kantar Worldpanel showed its sales grew at the fastest rate in three years in its most recent trading period. Shares in Morrisons and Sainsbury's rose 4.4 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.

Budget airline EasyJet was another top gainer, climbing 5.3 per cent after an update. Though the airline reported a 28 per cent drop in its pretax profit, its first decline since 2009, analysts said that it came in at the upper end of a range given in October.

Pharma group Hikma also gained ground, rising more than 6 per cent, the biggest gain on the FTSE 100. Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to "overweight" late on Monday, citing an encouraging pipeline as well as a compelling valuation.

EUROPE

Germany’s Dax index rose 0.4 per cent, erasing an annual slide. The benchmark has climbed on all but one of seven sessions through today. Volkswagen added 1.3 per cent after sources said it reached an agreement with US environmental regulators to fix or buy back about 80,000 vehicles with tainted engines related to its diesel-emissions cheating.

Among other stocks active on corporate news: Hennes and Mauritz added 4.8 per cent after the retailer posted an increase in October sales.

Nokia dropped 3.8 per cent after predicting a 2017 profit margin for its main business that trailed estimates.TalkTalk Telecom Group slid 5.5 per cent after forecasting full-year earnings at the lower end of a previous projected range.

NEW YORK

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on Tuesday as tech stocks were back in demand after a post-election drubbing, while the Dow took a breather following a six-day rally. The S&P technology sector, which had fallen about 3 per cent since Mr Trump’s shock victory, rose 1.29 per cent.

Microsoft's 1.62 per cent rise gave the biggest boost to the S&P and the Dow, followed by Amazon and Alphabet.

"The underlying fundamentals of the economy hasn't really changed and if the economy is strong that will lead to more capital spending which should benefit tech stocks," said Mark Watkins, regional investment manager at the Private Client Group at US Bank in Park City, Utah.

Home Depot, meanwhile, fell 2.1 per cent to $125.13 after the number one US home improvement chain reported strong third-quarter results but stood pat on its full-year sales forecast, implying a weaker-than-expected fourth quarter.

– (Additional reporting by Reuters)