1/2 year high LONDON, Feb. 1, SPA -- European stocks extended their march to new multi-year highs on Tuesday, led by mining shares, while Swiss chemical group Ciba fell 7 percent after providing disappointing numbers and a muted 2005 outlook. French utility Suez added 2 percent as it beat 2004 sales forecasts, driven by strong international demand for electricity and gas. Miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton gained 3 percent each after brokerage Smith Barney forecast strong earnings growth in the industry. Anglo-American rose nearly 4 percent. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips added 0.78 percent to close at 1,070.1 points, its highest level since mid-2002. It is up nearly 3 percent from its December closing levels. Strategists said strong global corporate earnings were supporting the markets, while investors had feared the worst. "I think investors have been very pessimistic about the earnings outlook, and earnings have come in line or slightly ahead of expectations," said Tristan Hanson, a strategist at brokers Cazenove in London. --More 2318 Local Time 2018 GMT
