European shares close marginally higher

The pan-European STOXX 600 logged a quarterly gain and a third month in positive territory, its best showing since May

European shares reversed their earlier declines to close marginally higher on Tuesday, with energy stocks limiting broader gains.

The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.5% higher, in its third straight session of gains. The index logged a quarterly gain and a third month in positive territory, its best showing since May. London’s FTSE 100 hit an intraday record high.

Most sectors were on the rise, with media stocks adding 1.2% and retail up 1.1%. Industrial and healthcare stocks provided the biggest boosts to the STOXX 600.

On the flip side, oil and gas stocks slipped 1.6%, logging their biggest one-day decline in more than three weeks. Investors are anticipating a rise in OPEC+ supply later this week, which has sent oil prices down.

France’s TotalEnergies and Britain’s BP dipped more than 1% each.

Other sectoral laggards included automobiles and parts down 0.4% and travel and leisure stocks down0.3%.

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said the euro zone inflation risks were “quite contained”.

It followed an inflation figure that suggested overall price growth had risen across the bloc.

Meanwhile, the UK economy grew 0.3% in the second quarter, French preliminary inflation sat at 1.1% in September, and German inflation in four key states increased in line with forecasts.

Among individual stocks, Lufthansa tumbled 7.1% to the bottom of the STOXX 600, snapping five sessions of gains. The German airline could face a strike after pilots’ union VC said members had voted in favour of a walkout in a dispute over pensions.

On the data front, British house prices rose slightly faster than expected in September, while an inflation figure for the eurozone is due later in the day.