EUROPE MARKETS: Europe Stocks Rise Ahead Of German ZEW Report

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets posted broad-based gains on Tuesday, with shares of Danone SA leading the charge north after a job-cut announcement, while investors also awaited the latest take on economic sentiment in Germany.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.2% to 287.21, on track to break a three-day losing streak.

Shares of Danone jumped 5.4% after the yogurt maker announced plans to slash around 900 jobs in Europe in response to the region's downturn.

And shares of HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) slipped 0.4% after Morgan Stanley cut the bank to equal weight from overweight. In the same vein, Morgan Stanley lifted Standard Chartered PLC to overweight from equal weight, helping lift the shares 2.3%.

Elsewhere, investors looked to the release of the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment to gauge whether optimism that the German economy is improving persists.

In January, the index jumped to the highest level since May 2010, fueling hopes that Europe's largest economy is making its way out of the crisis. The report is due at 10 a.m. London time or 5 a.m. U.S. Eastern.

Germany's DAX 30 index added 0.4% to 7,660.03, with shares of health-care major Bayer AG up 1.7%.

In France, the CAC 40 index put on 0.7% to 3,693.55. Shares of Carrefour SA gained 1%, after J.P. Morgan Cazenove initiated coverage of the supermarket retailer with an overweight rating.

The bank also initiated coverage of U.K. supermarket retailer Tesco PLC (TESO) with an overweight recommendation, helping send the shares 0.6% higher.

The FTSE 100 index gained 0.1% to 6,326.87.

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