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Europe close: Stocks higher as euro dips
European stocks held onto their early gains with following the long weekend in the States against a backdrop of rising government bond yields, a dip in the euro and ahead of a wave of debt sales scheduled for later on the other side of the Pond.
By the closing bell, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was 0.60% or 2.27 points higher to 380.51, alongside an advance of 0.83% or 102.30 points to 12,487.90 on the German Dax and a gain of 0.64% or 33.68 points to 5,289.66 for the Cac-40.
Meanwhile, the euro/dollar was 0.56% lower to 1.2341.
Acting as a backdrop, analysts at Morgan Stanley were in the market spotlight on Tuesday after reportedly pointing out to clients how, in inflation-adjusted terms, government bond yields in the US had yet to break-out from their recent trading range.
Hence, in their opinion, the early February correction in stocks had been just the "appetiser, not the main course".
Their comments came ahead of the sale of $151bn of US Treasury bills scheduled for later on Tuesday, alongside an auction of $28bn in two-year debt.
Back in European news, Germany's Ministry of Finance reported that the year-on-year rate of advance in consumer prices in the euro area's largest economy slipped to 2.1% for January, versus 2.3% in December (consensus: 1.8%).
Also in Germany, the ZEW institute's economic confidence gauge for Germany in February slipped 2.6 points to a reading of 17.8 (consensus: 16.2).
Later in the day, Eurostat reported that its gauge of euro area consumer confidence fell to a reading of 0.1 for February from an upwardly revised 1.4 in January (consensus: 1.1).
Arcelor Mittal stock was unchanged despite a Bloomberg report that its bid for Essar Steel India might be disqualified because when it filed its bid it still held a 29.1% stake in Uttam Galva, a company that was classified as a delinquent borrower.