Europe midday: Stocks push higher as retailers rally

European stocks rose on Tuesday as oil recovered somewhat from recent lows, with retailers among the best performers.

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 1.4%, France’s CAC 40 was 2.2% higher and Germany’s DAX was 2.4% firmer.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 managed to eke out small gains on Monday following a choppy session.

In Asia, stocks were mostly lower, with the exception of mainland China, where the Shanghai Composite ended up 0.2%.

“There are signs that markets are finding their feet again, with China’s Yuan remaining somewhat stable for a third session which appears to have finally brought some calm to Chinese equity markets,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

“Of course, this could just be the calm before the storm which is why we may see investors proceed with caution in the next couple of days.”

In European corporate news, retailers were in focus, with supermarket operator Morrisons surging in London after it delivered an unexpectedly solid Christmas trading update. Like-for-like sales were up 0.2% in the nine weeks to 3 January, beating expectations for a 2% drop.

Peers Tesco and Sainsbury were both firmly in the black. Sainsbury also benefited from data released by market research firm Kantar, which showed the supermarket chain’s market share has risen to 17% in the UK.

Debenhams’ Christmas sales also came in comfortably ahead of expectations, pushing the stock sharply higher.

German retailer Metro AG advanced after reporting strong Christmas sales, with revenue in line with expectations.

Car maker Peugeot was also on the front foot after it posted a 1.2% rise in 2015 sales thanks to strong demand in Europe.

Fiat Chrysler gained ground after chief executive Sergio Marchionne said the company would end the year at the top end of its financial guidance.

Meanwhile, oil prices recovered from recent lows, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.4% to $31.54 a barrel and Brent crude up 0.7% to $31.77.

“Short positions on oil prices are now at a record high but it’s times like these that a surprise squeeze higher can occur,” said Brenda Kelly, head analyst at London Capital Group.