LONDON: Europe's main stock markets ended higher on Tuesday, with Frankfurt's DAX 30 pushing further into record territory as it closes in on the 10,000 point level.
The DAX gained 0.49 percent to a record close of 9,940.82 points, its first above 9,900 points. During the session it rose as high as 9,951.90 points.
Coming back from a long holiday, London's FTSE 100 index of top companies climbed 0.49 percent from Friday's closing level to stand at 6,844.94 points.
The CAC 40 in Paris added 0.06 percent to 4,529.75.
The euro fell against the dollar on comments by ECB chief Mario Draghi interpreted by the market to mean the bank may ease monetary policy further next month as it seeks to avoid a dangerous fall in prices.
"The German DAX continues to push ever closer to the psychological barrier that is the 10,000 level as it continues to post record highs, while the rest of Europe consolidates its gains," said analyst Michael Hewson at CMC Markets UK.
He noted that the FTSE 100 was also close to 14-year highs. "It's becoming hard to imagine what the catalyst would be for a sharp downward move in equity markets, given how markets continue to go from strength to strength," said Hewson.
In foreign exchange deals on Tuesday, the euro slid to $1.3621 from $1.3646 late in New York on Monday.
The European single currency climbed to 81.06 British pence from 81.01 pence. The British pound slid to $1.6803 from $1.6843 on Monday.
Speaking in Portugal on Tuesday, Mario Draghi indicated that the ECB sees a risk of prolonged low inflation in the eurozone, which would make it harder to improve the bloc's competitiveness and raises fears of possible dangerous deflation.
Markets took that as a signal the ECB is ready to act next week to ease monetary policy to avoid a further slowdown in inflation.
US stocks pushed higher Tuesday following an unexpected rise in durable goods orders as trade resumed following Monday's Memorial Day holiday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.42 percent to 16,676.27 points in midday trading.
The broad-based S&P 500, fresh off a record close Friday, advanced 0.48 percent to 1,909.58, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.92 percent to 4,224.13.
New orders for US durable goods rose 0.8 percent in April, the Commerce Department said. The report had been expected to show a decline of 1.3 percent.
Asian stock markets mostly fell on Tuesday, retreating from the previous day's gains, but Tokyo bucked the trend as the yen dipped against the dollar.
AstraZeneca shares down:
On the corporate front, shares in AstraZeneca fell 1.8 percent to close at £42.52 pence, one day after US drugmaker Pfizer scrapped its controversial takeover offer for the British pharmaceuticals giant.
Pfizer's announcement on Monday put an end to a long-running bidding saga that drew widespread attention over fears that British jobs would be lost and accusations that the tie-up was a cynical ploy by Pfizer to pay less tax.
The improved and "final" bid, pitched at £55 per share, was rejected last week by AstraZeneca's management, who wanted at least £58.85.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) jumped 3.4 percent to £23.02 on reports that the world's largest hotel operator by number of rooms was facing a takeover bid from an unnamed US company.
"Intercontinental Hotels has reportedly said 'no' to a £6.0 billion ($10.1 billion, 7.4 billion euros) bid, and yet again suspicions are rife that a US firm is looking to engage in some fancy tax footwork by domiciling in Britain," said market analyst David Madden at trading firm IG.
"If such an attempt were to succeed, it would likely be the first and last of its kind since Congress would try to act quickly to stop any more US firms heading for the departure lounge."
London-listed IHG, which owns the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn chains, would not comment on the speculation.
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