INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
MILAN: European shares were supported in morning trading on Tuesday by gains among oil stocks, while British clothing retailer Next rallied
after raising its profit guidance.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.2 per cent by 0801 GMT, recovering part of the losses suffered in
the previous session when worries over a protracted US-Sino trade war sparked profit-taking.
Optimism over the Italian budget also buoyed
sentiment.
Oil majors BP and Shell rose more than 1 per cent after Brent hit a fresh four-year high amid looming US sanctions against Iran
and an apparent reluctance by OPEC and Russia to raise output to offset the expected to hit to supply.
"Russia and Saudi Arabia essentially
ignoring Trump's pleas, combined with US sanctions hitting Iran's oil exports in early November means we expect fresh multi year highs
for oil, which will also help the oil majors such as BP and Shell to gain ground in the near term," LCG analyst Jasper Lawler said.
The oil
and gas index led sectoral gainers, up 1 per cent at its highest level since mid-July.
Commodities trader and miner Glencore added 2.2 per
cent after launching a $1 billion share buyback.
Heavyweight drugmaker Novartis rose 1.2 per cent after saying it would cut about 2,200 jobs
in Switzerland over the next four years to help boost profitability.
Top gainer on the STOXX was Next, up 8.3 per cent.
The clothing
retailer posted a 0.5 per cent rise in first-half profit and raised its full-year guidance after better-than-expected trading in August and
early September.
Signs that Italy's coalition was likely to reach a compromise over the 2019 budget lifted Italian stocks and bonds with
the country's top FTSE MIB equity index up around 1 per cent, outperforming the broader market.
State-controlled Italian defence
contractor Leonardo rose more than 3 per cent after it won a helicopter order from the US Air Force.
Italian banks, which are sensitive to
political risk due to their big sovereign bond holdings, rose 1.5 per cent
Their gains helped and growing expectations of a rate hike in the euro zone next year helped lifted the European banks up 0.7 per
cent.
Elsewhere, British American Tobacco fell 1.9 per cent after news the cigarettes maker named Jack Bowles as CEO, while rival Imperial
Brands added 0.6 per cent following a trading update
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Alison Williams)
