STOXX 600 ends up 0.2
Zalando lifts retail index to highest levels in two years
Zaraowner Inditex climbs on boost from upmarket fashion
Euro zone industrial production falls in January

March 13 Reuters European shares touched new record highs on Wednesday, boosted by upbeat corporate updates from the retail and utilities sector though the advance was limited by losses in automakers.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 ended up 0.2. The index earlier in the session hit an alltime high for the fifth time in the past six sessions.

The retail index emerged as the top sectoral performer, adding 3.4 on the back of a 18.9 jump in Zalando.

The online fashion retailer forecast a return to growth this year and said it would buy back up to 100 million euros 109 million of shares.

Upbeat corporate updates have fostered a riskon sentiment among European investors, reflecting confidence in the economy.

Also aiding the scorching rally in European stocks have been expectations of an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank in June.

The start of the easing cycle could be particularly beneficial for smaller companies in Europe such as those in the industrials sector as well as small cap firms in the United Kingdom, said Helen Jewell, chief investment officer of BlackRock Fundamental Equities, EMEA.

Some of them are trading at very low multiples at the moment and as long as they39;ve got a real robustness to the earnings and relatively low leverage, those…