London: European stocks closed higher Tuesday, despite pressure from a decline in energy stocks, as investors assess the potential repercussions of the US government shutdown on financial markets.
According to Qatar News Agency, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index gained 0.5 percent, ending the current quarter and third consecutive month higher, marking its best performance since last May. London’s FTSE 100 also reached a record high during today’s session.
The market’s gains were boosted by the media sector, which rose 1.2 percent, alongside the retail sector, which increased by 1.1 percent. The industrial and healthcare sectors provided the greatest support to the Stoxx 600 index. Conversely, oil and gas stocks experienced a significant decline of 1.6 percent, marking their largest daily drop in over three weeks, with France’s TotalEnergies and Britain’s BP each falling more than 1 percent.
Further declines were observed in the auto and parts sector, which fell 0.4 percent, and the travel and leisure sector, which declined 0.3 percent.