The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.1 percent to 1,468.30 on Tuesday on light trade.
Among gainers on the day was Alitalia, which gained 3 percent to €0.986 on speculation that the Italian airline could hook up with international carriers.
Consumer goods company Henkel was 3.8 percent higher to €112.28 on a target share price upgrade from Merrill Lynch, which also repeated its “buy” recommendation citing growth in sales. The broker raised the German company’s target share price from €100 to €127.
Bancha Monte dei Paschi di Siena added 1.3 percent to €4.89 when French insurance company CNP Assurances revealed that it is interested in bidding for the Italian bank’s insurance unit, MPS Vita. CNP added 0.2 percent to €82.15 on the news.
Danone was 1.9 percent higher to €119.00 after Goldman Sachs issued a “buy” recommendation for the French foods group on the basis of growth that was outpacing the sector.
Luxury goods group Richemont added 1.4 percent to SFr66.65 on an improved full-year earnings forecast from Goldman Sachs. The upgrade came after Richemont announced on Friday that profits were up 22 percent in the first half.
Deutsche Borse was up 3 percent to €129.74 after speculation surfaced that it might be interested in bidding on Spanish exchange BME now that the German exchange has withdrawn its bid for Euronext. BME gained 7.4 percent to €29.95 on the rumors.