Europe Stocks Inch Higher; Shrug Off U.S. Shutdown

European stock markets opened cautiously higher on Tuesday, largely shrugging off a partial U.S. government shutdown and instead mirroring modest gains in Asia.

Japanese shares closed higher after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced plans to increased the nation’s sales tax as planned in efforts to help the country’s public finances.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.1% to 310.85, partly recovering from a 0.6% loss on Monday. Among notable movers in the index, shares of Renault SA gained 1.2% after a round of upbeat French car-sales data. Shares of Telecom Italia SpA rose 3% after Goldman Sachs reinstated a buy rating on the firm. Among country-specific indexes, France’s CAC 40 index climbed 0.3% to 4,156.04, while Germany’s DAX 30 index gained 0.5% to 8,635.65. U.K.’s FTSE 100 index fell 0.2% to 6,451.25.

Source : Marketwatch