By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks rose Tuesday, on track
to snap two sessions of losses as energy issues caught a break
after a recent patch of relentless selling.
The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.9% to 348.62, aided by 2.1% drive
higher for oil and gas producers. The group has dropped over the
past six sessions, according to FactSet, including losses of more
than 8% since Thursday after the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries left its production target unchanged. That
decision was a disappointment to investors who had looked to the
group to address oversupply and a related slide
On Tuesday, shares of oil and gas firm Afren PLC charged 13%
higher, leading advancers on the Stoxx Europe 600 index. Premier
Oil PLC rose 6.2% and Tullow Oil PLC popped up 5.4%. Also, shares
of BG Group PLC climbed 3% and Royal Dutch Shell PLC gained 2%.
Stock in Genel Energy PLC rallied 7.4% after the
Kurdistan-focused oil producer said it and its partners in the Taq
Taq field received an initial $30 million payment from the
Kurdistan Regional Government for oil exports.
On the country indexes, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 1.1%,
France's CAC 40 rose 0.4% but Germany's DAX 30 slipped 0.2%, with
auto stocks lower after a Reuters report that car sales in Germany
fell in November. Daimler AG shares lost 0.7% and BMW AG gave up
0.5%. Shares of utility E. ON SE were losing 1.6% in Frankfurt.
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