STOXX 600 closes at record high, led by healthcare stocks

The pan-European STOXX 600 ended up 1.3% at a record close of 580.13 points, having earlier also hit an all-time intraday high

European shares closed at a record high on Tuesday, led by healthcare stocks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 ended up 1.3% at a record close of 580.13 points, having earlier also hit an all-time intraday high.

Britain’s FTSE 100 also closed at a record high, lifted by hopes of a December Bank of England rate cut after data pointed to slowing jobs growth. Italy’s bank-heavy FTSE MIB index hit its highest since 2001.

European stocks had logged their biggest daily gain in six months on Monday.

Meanwhile, renewed concerns around elevated technology valuations weighed on the U.S. markets. SoftBank Group’s $5.8 billion sale of its Nvidia stake stoked fears that the frenzy around artificial intelligence may have peaked.

What spares Europe today, both the Euro STOXX index and the FTSE 100, is their smaller exposure to the technology stocks that are dragging sentiments lower today, said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank.

Healthcare stocks gained 2.9%. Novo Nordisk added 6.4% with traders attributing the gains to upbeat comments from brokerage JPMorgan. Separately, the drugmaker cut the price of its weight-loss drug, Wegovy, by up to 33% in India. Zealand Pharma gained 8.7%.

Luxury stocks added 2.4%, while banks rose 1.1%.

We have seen better than expected results for many European sectors that have been under pressure, namely luxury and automakers, Ozkardeskaya said. This being said, the earnings season has been mixed and the risks for the European markets continue due to the trade tensions, both with the U.S. and China, and a quite dull growth outlook for the zone overall.