European shares rose on Tuesday to hover near a five-week high as traders evaluated the resilience of the global recovery to a record spike in coronavirus cases.
Investors hailed strong holiday season sales and grew confident a global recovery would regain steam next year despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pan European Stoxx 600 rose half a percent to 487.99 after gaining 0.6 percent in the previous session to notch a more than one-month high.
The German DAX climbed 0.7 percent and France’s CAC 40 index added half a percent despite tightening curbs in France and surging Covid-19 cases in Spain and Britain.
Spain’s coronavirus infection rate exceeded 1,000 cases per 100,000 people for the first time on Monday, stoked by the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
While the U.K. government ruled out introducing stricter Covid-19 restrictions in England before the end of the year, the French government announced protocols for New Year’s Eve.
Clariant AG, a Swiss specialty chemicals company, advanced 1.1 percent. The company has signed definitive agreements to acquire BASF Group’s (BFA.L, BASFY.PK) U.S. Attapulgite business assets for $60 million in cash.
Telecom Italia rose 0.6 percent. An Italian ministry said it would use a proposal presented by a consortium that includes the company as a blueprint in the national cloud tender it plans to launch in the first weeks of 2022.