(Bloomberg) -- European stocks ended higher on Tuesday after European Union leaders agreed on a 750 billion-euro ($860 billion) stimulus package designed to aid the region's economic recovery.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3%, adding to Monday's gains. The benchmark pierced a key resistance level, representing its 200-day moving average, but failed to close above it. Earnings were in focus, with UBS Group AG climbing 2.6% after reporting net new money and profit that beat estimates and expressing confidence about dividends, while Novartis AG dropped 1.9% after trimming its 2020 sales forecast.
Equities in Europe have outperformed U.S. and global shares since mid-May, when the stimulus proposal was first announced, with several strategists and investors citing it as a reason to prefer the region's stocks.
The agreement over the EU recovery fund is “a big deal for the bloc which will see countries borrow together for the first time,” said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group.
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