EU Shares Up as Oil and Retail Stocks Rise

European shares inched higher on Tuesday, lifted by the rise in oil and retail stocks. Britain is set for a new national lockdown to contain a surge in coronavirus cases.

By 0814 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index climbed 0.1% after opening lower. It was following losses in Asia and on Wall Street over worries about the runoff Senate elections in Georgia, U.S.

UK’s FTSE 100 was up 0.6%. Oil majors like Royal Dutch Shell (LON: RDSa) and BP (NYSE: BP) uplifted it provided the biggest support.

Furthermore, British fashion retailer Next rose by 8.2%. This came after it said its Christmas sales were much better than it had expected.

Additionally, the domestically focused mid-cap index inched 0.2% higher. It rose despite a new, more contagious variant of the COVID prompting a lockdown. This means a fresh shutdown of schools and businesses. The variant first appeared in the United Kingdom.

With the government also looking to extend a lockdown, Germany’s DAX index was flat.

German chipmaker Dialog Semiconductor PLC gained 4.7%. That was after it gave an upbeat Q4 revenue forecast due to strong demand for 5G phones and tablets.

AU Stocks Ended Lower; S&P/ASX 200 Down 0.03%

Australian stocks drifted lower after the close on Tuesday. Leading shares lower were losses in the Energy, Industrials, and Consumer Discretionary sectors.

At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.03%. 

Moreover, the session’s best performers on the S&P/ASX 200 were Silver Lake Resources Ltd (ASX: SLR). They rose 6.81% or 0.130 points to trade at 2.040 at the close. 

Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM), meanwhile, added 4.18% or 1.130 points to end at 28.140. Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) gained 4.07% or 0.170 points to 4.350 in late trade.

On the other side, the session’s worst performers were Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P). They fell 5.01% or 0.28 points to trade at 5.31 at the close. 

Addittionally, EML Payments Ltd (ASX:EML) declined 4.02% or 0.17 points to end at 4.06. Unibail Rodamco Westfield (ASX:URW) fell 3.95% or 0.20 points to 4.86.

Rising stocks exceeded the Sydney Stock Exchange’s declining ones by 676 to 650, and 351 ended unchanged.

Furthermore, Rising 4.07% or 0.170 to 4.350, shares in Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) rose to 5-year highs.

The S&P/ASX 200 VIX was up 0.50% to 14.138.