LONDON (Reuters) - European shares rose on Tuesday pushing the benchmark STOXX 600 back slightly into positive territory for the year with some encouraging company updates and gains in healthcare stocks helping to counter weakness in oil majors and eurozone banks.
Chipmaker AMS (S:AMS) rose 13.6 percent, poised for its best-ever day following results while food-processing machinery maker GEA (DE:G1AG) was up 5.5 percent after a setting a brighter outlook for its profits.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index (STOXX) rose 0.2 percent with bluechip healthcare stocks, industrials and mining stocks underpinning gains.
Chipmaker AMS (S:AMS) shares surged more than 16 percent and were on track for their best day in nearly 13 years after the company's fourth-quarter revenue came in at the top end of the chipmaker's expectations.
Among sector movers, the European mining index (SXPP) rose 0.9 percent, the best performer in STOXX 600 index, helped by a rise in base and precious metals miners.
On the flipside, shares of BP (L:BP) fell 2.5 percent, the biggest drags on the STOXX 600 after the company missed estimates. Peer Statoil (OL:STL) also fell after a disappointing set of results.
French banks, among the best performers across European financials in 2016, fell after BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) reported results below forecasts.