European stocks extend gains for fourth day, Bayer soars

European stocks edged higher on Tuesday, as positive corporate updates helped keep markets at a six-week high, a day after the United States and China announced a truce in their trade spat.

The continent-wide STOXX 600 index rose 0.2% by 0732 GMT, rising for a fourth straight session.

Global stocks surged on Monday after Beijing and Washington agreed to a 90-day pause on some of the hefty tariffs imposed earlier in April.


Among single stocks, Bayer jumped 10.8% after it posted a slower decline in first-quarter adjusted earnings than the market had feared as strong prescription numbers for new drugs offset a drop in its soy and cotton seed business.

Shares of renewable energy firms Vestas and Orsted and Portugal's largest utility EDP soared, with traders pointing to better-than-expected U.S. proposals for the reconciliation bill.

Germany's largest reinsurers, Munich Re and Hannover Re, dropped 3.9% and 3.4%, respectively, after they reported sharp declines in first-quarter profit after a combined 1.7 billion euros ($1.89 billion) in claims relating to the Los Angeles wildfires this year.