Nov 11 (Reuters) - European shares closed at a record high on Tuesday, led by healthcare stocks, as investors anticipated an end to the U.S. government shutdown and assessed mixed forecasts from telecom companies including Vodafone and INWIT.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), ended up 1.3% at a record close of 580.13 points, having earlier also hit an all-time intraday high.
Britain's FTSE 100 (.FTSE), also closed at a record high, lifted by hopes of a December Bank of England rate cut after data pointed to slowing jobs growth. Italy's bank-heavy FTSE MIB (.FTMIB), index touched its highest since 2001.
European stocks had logged their biggest daily gain in six months on Monday, with traders hoping that a resolution of the U.S. government shutdown could mean a restart of crucial official data releases.
The U.S. Senate on Monday approved a deal that would restore U.S. federal funding and end the longest shutdown in history.
Meanwhile, renewed concerns around elevated technology valuations weighed on the U.S. markets. SoftBank Group's $5.8 billion sale of its Nvidia stake stoked fears that the frenzy around artificial intelligence may have peaked.
"What spares Europe today, both the Euro STOXX index and the FTSE 100, is their smaller exposure to the technology stocks that are dragging sentiments lower today," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank.
Healthcare (.SXDP), stocks added 2.9%. Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), rose 6.4% with traders attributing the gains to upbeat comments from brokerage JPMorgan. Separately, the drugmaker cut the price of its blockbuster weight-loss drug, Wegovy, by up to 33% in India, according to a document seen by Reuters. Zealand Pharma (ZELA.CO), advanced 8.7%.
Luxury stocks (.STXLUXP), gained 2.4%, while banks (.SX7P), added 1.1%.
"We have seen better than expected results for many European sectors that have been under pressure, namely luxury and automakers," Ozkardeskaya said. "This being said, the earnings season has been mixed and the risks for the European markets continue due to the trade tensions, both with the U.S. and China, and a quite dull growth outlook for the zone overall."
Among corporate updates, Vodafone (VOD.L), gained 8.3% after a return to growth in Germany helped the company upgrade its earnings outlook.
Conversely, INWIT (INWT.MI), slid 11.8% after the telecoms towers company lowered its revenue outlook for 2026.
Swiss stocks (.SSMI), reached a more than three-week high, with Richemont (CFR.S), and Swatch Group (UHR.S), up 1.9% and 5.7%, respectively, on relief as U.S. President Donald Trump said he was working with Switzerland on a deal to lower the 39% tariff rate it faces on exports.
Fraport (FRAG.DE), advanced 6.5% after the Frankfurt Airport operator topped market expectations for third-quarter core earnings.
However, German investor morale has unexpectedly fallen in November, the ZEW economic research institute said.
Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Mark Heinrich
