EUROPE MARKETS: Energy Stocks Drive European Market Higher

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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