European stocks advance, supported by BP earnings

European stocks opened higher on Tuesday, supported by positive results from oil giant BP and signs of new stimulus for faltering Chinese financial markets.

By 0809 GMT, the European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5%, after a 1.3% jump in Asian stocks after a Chinese government fund intensified its efforts to stabilize the declining market.

According to Reuters, BP’s shares, listed on the London Stock Exchange, rose 5.3%, after it announced profits of three billion dollars in the fourth quarter and accelerated the pace of buying back its shares.

The oil and gas index in Europe rose 1.7%, leading sector gains.

UBS shares fell 2.7% after the Swiss bank said it had completed the first stage of merging its faltering competitor, Credit Suisse, after the fourth-quarter results.

The German DAX index was affected by a 1.9% decline in Infineon shares, after the chip manufacturer reduced its revenue expectations.

Morphosis shares jumped 15.4 percent and continued to record strong gains after rising 36 percent on Monday when Novartis said it would buy the company developing a cancer treatment for 2.7 billion euros ($2.9 billion).