In Europe on Tuesday the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.4 percent to 1,405.55 as the telecommunications and automobile manufacturing sectors saw advances on the day.

Volkswagen added 4.3 percent to €61.24 after it announced that the number of cars it sold in the first four months of the year was up by 14.5 percent. It also said that restructuring is still a top priority. Renault was up 3.2 percent to €96.35, while Porsche gained 2.1 percent to €824 on a reiteration of its “outperform” rating from Credit Suisse. Peugeot was up 2 percent to €53.15.

KPN, the Dutch telecoms group, added 3.1 percent to €9.62 on a report that its core profit was up 10 percent in the first quarter, higher than expected, as its mobile unit more than compensated for weakness in its fixed-line business. This report earned a reiteration of its “outperform” rating from Bear Stearns. Other telecommunications companies that saw advances on the day included Telnor, which added 0.9 percent to NKr83.25, and Telecom Italia, up 2.1 percent to €2.322.

Not all telecoms saw gains on the day, however. The Greek Cosmote, OTE’s mobile unit, dropped 2.4 percent to €19.10 on the news that it has purchased 42 percent of Germanos. Meanwhile, Hellenic Telecommunications (OTE) dropped 1.1 percent to €18.98. Germanos gained 3.2 percent to €18.6 on the news.