Europe midday: Stoxx rebounds to record high; Softcat surges on H1 earnings

European shares rallied on Tuesday to hit record territory again as investors turned their attention to US durable goods data in the afternoon and inflation numbers later in the week.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index, which has enjoyed a rally to record highs in recent days, bounced back to be up 0.18% to 510.78.

"Equity markets have by and large dispelled the fears of a more cautious approach from the Fed this year, with gains in treasury yields doing little to hold back indices given the record highs across the US indices last week," said Scope Markets chief analyst Joshua Mahony.

"Meanwhile, the prospect of an impending period of monetary easing in Europe has sparked the likes of the DAX and FTSE 100 into life, with European indices enjoying a period of strength that has gradually awoken traders to the relatively affordable valuations offered in the region."

In economic news, German consumers were slightly more confident in March, although the recovery in sentiment remained slow, according to a monthly survey by GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions.

In equity news, Softcat headed the Stoxx after reporting record first-half operating profit.

Ocado also surged after first-quarter retail revenue rose 10.6% year-on-year. Separate industry data from research firm Kantar also showed it was the fastest-growing grocer in the 12 weeks to March 17.

Shares in gambling group Flutter were also higher as the company said it expected core profit to jump by around 30% this year.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com