European shares advanced in early trade on Tuesday, rising for a seventh straight day, following gains in Asia and in the United States and amid another batch of second-quarter earnings.
At 0717 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.3 percent at 883.36 points.
The index rose for the sixth straight session on Tuesday, and is up more than 36 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as investors have become more confident on the prospects of recovery.
British supermarket group Morrison (MRW.L) led retailers higher, up 7.6 percent, after saying full-year results would beat expectations.
Tesco (TSCO.L) rose 1 percent and Sainsbury (SBRY.L) was up 1.3 percent.
"It's looking positive. Corporate earnings have shown that top lines are not so good, but the bottom line is better, as they have cut costs," said Justin Urquhart-Stewart, investment director at Seven Investment Management, in London.
"But you can only do that so far. In the broader picture, you wonder where the growth is coming from."
World number two truck maker Volvo (VOLVb.ST) fell 1.9 percent after posting a deeper than expected second-quarter operating loss and stood by its forecast of sharp declines in its main markets this year. [ID:nLL382172]
Nordea (NDA.ST), the Nordic region's biggest bank by value, rose 1.2 percent after reporting a smaller-than expected drop in second-quarter operating profit on Tuesday and raised its full-year outlook. [ID:nSAT006375]
U.S. stocks jumped on Monday, driving the S&P 500 to an eight-month closing high, after CIT (CIT.N) was thrown a lifeline to avoid bankruptcy, and investors bet corporate America would log another strong set of earnings this week.
Japan's Nikkei 225 .N225 rose 2.7 percent, its highest close in two weeks.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reassured that loose monetary policy with interest rates near zero would be around for a while longer.
Bernanke said the Fed's accommodative policy would be warranted for an extended period even while laying out a roadmap for how the Fed could mop up the massive reserves injected into the financial system.
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