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Oct 1 (Reuters) - European shares gained on Tuesday, with
Apple suppliers leading the charge following a report of strong
iPhone sales and a jump in airline stocks after bullish calls
from Bank of America Merrill Lynch on the sector.
Semiconductor makers jumped into the spotlight with AMS
AMS.S , Dialog DLGS.DE and STMicro STM.MI posting gains in
early trading, pushing the technology sector .SX8P 1% higher.
Apple Inc's AAPL.O Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told a
German daily that sales of the company's newest iPhones were off
to a strong start.
The STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.3%, with the travel &
leisure index .SXTP up 0.6%.
Air France AIRF.PA jumped 2.3% to the top of STOXX 600,
after BofA Merrill Lynch initiated coverage on the French
carrier with a "buy." The brokerage also set "buy"
recommendations for British Airways owner IAG ICAG.L and Wizz
Air WIZZ.L .
Danish facility services provider ISS ISS.CO was the
biggest decliner on the STOXX 600, down 3% after Jefferies
downgraded the stock to "hold".
Investors are anxiously waiting for IHS Markit's Purchasing
Managers' Index (PMI) data from the euro zone, and will pay
close attention to Germany, as the bloc's biggest economy
battles a manufacturing recession.