LONDON (Reuters) - The muted start to the second quarter continued on Tuesday as European shares edged up, helped by gains in oil-related stocks and miners, though weakness in the autos sector weighed.
The pan-European STOXX 600 (STOXX) index was up 0.1 pct while the resources-heavy FTSE 100 (FTSE) outperformed and was up 0.5 percent.
Oil stocks (SXEP) and basic resource (SXPP) were the standout sectoral gainers, both rising around 0.5 percent, rebounding from losses in the previous session.
Broker action boosted individual names, with Rotork (L:ROR) jumping 5.6 percent after JP Morgan raised the valve-control systems maker to "overweight" from "neutral".
Likewise Weir (L:WEIR) rose 2.3 percent after Citigroup (NYSE:C) began its coverage of the stock with a "buy" rating.
Stocks with South African exposure, such as Investec (L:INVP) and Old Mutual (L:OML), were among the biggest fallers, down 3.2 percent and 2.7 respectively after S&P Global Ratings cut the country's credit rating to sub-investment grade with a negative outlook, sending the rand lower.
Autos (SXAP) were the biggest sectoral losers, down 1 percent with Daimler (DE:DAIGn), Peugeot (PA:PEUP) and Renault (PA:RENA) leading the sector lower.
Figures for U.S. sales of new vehicles in March at major carmarkers came in below market expectations while investor worries over the outlook for diesel vehicles has cast a cloud over European auto stocks.