EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Gain On Steady Manufacturing Data

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks rose Tuesday, with major indexes starting the second quarter with gains as data showed the euro zone's manufacturing sector remains on a path to recovery.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.5% to 335.71, adding to an advance on Monday's that left the benchmark up 1.8% for the first quarter.

Market-research firm Markit reported a final March reading of 53.0 for its euro-zone manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, unchanged from a previous estimate released last week. French manufacturing returned to expansion with a level of 52.1, compared with 49.7 in February -- the strongest reading since June 2011.

"While the [euro-zone] survey paints a picture of a manufacturing recovery that is broad-based, with output rising in all countries surveyed for the second month running, the slight easing in the rate of new-order inflows raises the risk of production growth weakening further in April," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, in a statement.

France's CAC 40 pushed up 0.5% to 4,414.54 and reached an intraday high following the data. Leading price performers on the index were shares of Alstom SA , up by 5.7% after the engineering conglomerate said it sold part of its steam-power business to investment fund Triton for an enterprise value of roughly 730 million euros ($1 billion).

Earlier in Asia, HSBC's monthly Chinese manufacturing reading fell for a third straight month in March, conflicting with China's official PMI, which signaled an expansion in the factory sector. But some analysts said much of the data reflect economic restructuring by China as it seeks more-sustainable growth.

On the Stoxx Europe 600 index, miners were higher, with a 2.6% climb in shares of BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) . The mining-sector heavyweight said it may further overhaul its portfolio to focus on up to five key commodities.

BHP's share-price rise also helped the U.K.'s FTSE 100 move higher, by 0.4% to 6,624.26.

Germany's DAX 30 bounced up 0.5% to 9,598.62.

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