European markets rallied on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 index hitting an intraday record high as investors built on the previous session's positive momentum.

 

The pan-European benchmark Stoxx 600 index rose 0.6% in early trading, with most sectors trading in positive territory. Technology stocks led the gains, rising 1.8%, while mining stocks fell 1.3%.

 

Britain's FTSE 100 index continued to rise, rising 0.55% to reach an all-time high of 8067.73 by 8:10 a.m. London time. This came after the index posted its fourth straight daily gain on Monday and surpassed the previous record close set on February 20, 2023.

 

U.K. stocks rose while sterling fell against the U.S. dollar as investors raised bets on a summer interest rate cut by the Bank of England.

 

Investors in the region are looking ahead to bank earnings this week and will also keep an eye on a number of technology news in the US, with Tesla reporting during US trading hours on Tuesday.

 

In Europe, Renault, Kering, OVH, Novartis and Associated British Foods all posted profits on Tuesday. On the data front, preliminary manufacturing and services purchasing managers' index data for the eurozone for April will be released.

 

In the evening, Asia-Pacific markets extended gains from Monday as investors await the release of flash data on business activity in Australia, Japan and India. U.S. stock futures were little changed Monday evening.

 

European stocks opened higher Tuesday, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 index up 0.6 percent by 8:05 a.m. London time.

 

Britain's FTSE 100 index was up 0.5 percent at an intraday high, France's CAC 40 was up 0.3 percent and Germany's DAX was up 0.8 percent.

 

- Karen Gilchrist

 

Swiss drugmaker Novartis raised its full-year outlook after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results thanks to the success of drugs such as heart failure drug Entresto and psoriasis drug Cosentyx.

 

The company said it expects net sales to grow by one to several double-digit percent in 2024 and adjusted operating income to grow by several double-digit to mid-tenths of a percent.

 

Previously, the company projected that adjusted operating income would increase by a "high single-digit" percentage and sales growth would increase by a "mid-single-digit" percentage.

 

- Karen Gilchrist

 

French automaker Renault on Tuesday reported a 1.8 percent rise in first-quarter earnings, helped by strong performance in its finance business.

 

The company sold 549,099 vehicles in the three-month period and posted revenue of 11.7 billion euros ($12.47 billion). That was slightly higher than the company's forecast for annual revenue to fall to 11.49 billion euros.

 

- Karen Gilchrist

 

According to an analysis of recent data, six stocks in the S&P 500 tend to rise when Tesla shares fall.

 

The stock price performance of these six companies has been inversely correlated with Tesla's stock performance in the past month. They have tended to rise this year, in contrast to Tesla stock's 40% drop.