European Shares Nudge Higher, DAX Holds 10,000

(RTTNews) - European stocks inched higher on Tuesday, as Germany's DAX index closed at a record high above 10,000 for a second day in a row.

Stocks have risen since last Thursday when the European Central Bank announced unprecedented measures aimed at stimulating the euro zone economy.

Financials have wobbled after the ECB would start charging a negative interest rate on money banks deposit at the central bank, but strength has emerged among energy and health care stocks.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks rose 0.17 percent to a new 6-year high, and are up 2.15 percent from a week ago.

The German DAX gained 0.15 percent, the CAC 40 of France rose 0.06 percent, while the UK's FTSE 100 eased 0.11 percent.

Bank of Ireland Plc dropped 2.8 percent after U.S. billionaire Wilbur Ross put on sale his remaining shares.

Booker Group lost 2.2 percent on a downgrade at Goldman Sachs.

Gemalto rose 2 percent. China Telecom has selected the company for commercial launch of NFC services.

Orange lost 2 percent and Bouygues was down 0.5 percent. Bloomberg reported that Iliad SA's takeover bid for Bouygues's telecom unit has stumbled due to a difference of 3 billion euros over the price for the unit.

Imperial Tobacco rose 0.8 percent. The company announced its intention to launch an IPO of Logista involving its indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary Altadis S.A.U. to sell a portion of its shares to institutional investors. Imperial Tobacco intends to retain the majority of Logista shares.

In economic news, the U.K. Office for National Statistics reported that industrial production in the U.K. rose 0.4 percent month-over-month and by 4.4 percent annually in April. The monthly increase was in line with estimates, while the annual growth exceeded expectations.

The Bank of France released the results of its business confidence survey showing deterioration in confidence, with the corresponding index declining unexpectedly by 1 point to 97 in May.

The bank also said it expects the French economy to expand by 0.2 percent in the second quarter after the stagnation in the first quarter.

Industrial output data released by French statistical office INSEE showed that industrial production rebounded by 0.3 percent month-over-month in April, in line with expectations.