European shares rose to their best levels in five months on Tuesday as record-high crude prices lifted oil company stocks, and investors largely kept their nerve about the potential economic damage from energy costs. Credit Suisse was also strong, with shares in the Swiss bank up 1.4 percent at 42 Swiss francs after a report that it is seeking buyers for its Winterthur insurance arm. Among the few heavy blue-chip losers, French retailer Carrefour shed 2.6 percent to 37.3 euros after reports of poor sales in its domestic market. Local rival Casino also fell. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips, closed up 0.2 percent at 1,015.77 points, its best close since April 27. Some three issues rose for every two that fell, in relatively good volume. The benchmark is now just 1.5 percent away from its high for the year. Other indexes fared even better, with London's FTSE racing to a 28-month high. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index gained 0.24 percent to end at 2,830.12 points. Investors appeared to shrug off a 1.7 percent rise in U.S. crude oil prices to nearly $51 a barrel due to prolonged production outages in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ivan. --More 2321 Local Time 2021 GMT
