By Purvi Agarwal, Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Avinash P
July 28 (Reuters) - European shares rose for a third straight session on Tuesday, as strong results from Unilever helped lift consumer-focused stocks higher and offset weakness elsewhere as earnings season picked up pace.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.4% to 646.89 at close. Investor sentiment towards consumer-facing stocks, both staples and discretionary, improved following robust results.
The STOXX 600 food and beverages index and personal
and household goods index gained 2.8% and 2.3% respectively, and were among the top sectoral gainers on the index.
Unilever jumped 8%, logging its biggest one-day gain in four years, after the consumer goods group beat second-quarter sales growth estimates. The gain also helped London's FTSE 100 <.FTSE > advance 0.8%.
Mercedes-Benz added 2.9% after the German automaker reported a 22% rise in quarterly operating profit.
Luxury stocks got a boost after LVMH reported a 3% rise in quarterly sales. Though its shares were flat, the broader European luxury index edged up 1.5%.
"The underlying fundamentals of economies are still pretty strong, broader earnings growth has actually been better than expected both in the U.S. and in Europe," said Nicholas Brooks, head of economic and investment research at London-based ICG.
Technology stocks remained in focus after the Information reported China had started manufacturing domestically developed immersion deep-ultraviolet lithography machines, injecting fresh concerns about competition into the AI trade.
This comes in a week packed with U.S. Big Tech earnings that are crucial to gauge whether the AI story still has room to run.
Among other movers, Barclays lost 4.8% despite reporting a 17% rise in first-half profit that beat forecasts, as analysts said its equities performance undershot market expectations boosted by Wall Street rivals' bumper quarter.
Italy's Saipem slid 8.9% after the oil and gas contractor lowered its expectations for 2026 core earnings to reflect costs linked to the Middle East crisis.
Bechtle
Energy stocks were the biggest percentage decliners, down 2.4%, as oil prices extended their slide on optimism around another U.S.-Iran deal after Washington paused its strikes over the weekend. [O/R]
The policy statement from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will be in focus on Wednesday. The U.S. central bank is expected to hold rates steady at this meeting, but markets are pricing in one 25-basis-point hike by the end of this year, according to LSEG-compiled data.
(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi ands Avinash P in Bengaluru; Editing by Amanda Cooper, Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Alex Richardson)
