By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets posted broad-based gains on Tuesday after a round of better-than-expected data from China and as tensions eased in the Syria conflict.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.8% to 308.16, after snapping a three-session winning streak on Monday.

Shares of Neste Oil Oyj rallied 14% after the refining firm upgraded its 2013 full-year guidance and said it expects "comparable operating profit to improve significantly compared to 2012."

Ashmore Group PLC put on 4.6% after the asset manager said assets under management jumped 22% in the year to June 30.

For the broader European stock markets, investors cheered fresh data from China. Industrial production in the country rose 10.4% in August, up from 9.7% in July and beating expectations of a 9.9% gain. Additionally, retail sales jumped 13.4%, also topping analyst expectations. Asia stocks closed in positive territory.

Markets were also buoyed by developments in the Syria conflict, where tensions eased Monday night. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested that President Bashar al-Assad could avert a military attack by handing over his chemical weapons to the international community.

The call comes as U.S. President Barack Obama has tried to build support in Congress and internationally to launch an intervention in Syria, after government forces there allegedly used chemical weapons against civilians.

U.S. stocks pointed to a higher open on Wall Street.

Back in Europe, Germany's DAX 30 index jumped 1.3% to 8,387.46.

Shares of Volkswagen AG were up 3.8% in Frankfurt after the auto maker said car sales rose in the January-to-August period. The company also introduced its first purely electric car.

France's CAC 40 index gained 1.1% to 4,083.84 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index put on 0.7% to 6,578.95.

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