German sports car maker Porsche gained 3.1% after upgrades from both Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers. Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Volkswagen after the company strong results, particularly from its Audi division. Shares in VW gained 1%. Among mining stocks, BHP Billiton was also generally stronger, up 1.4%, supporting the UK benchmark index.

Decliners

The energy sector pushed market lower, after crude fell below $57 a barrel. Royal Dutch Shell fell 1%, while France Total shed 0.9% and Italy’s Eni lost 1 %. Chemicals group Lanxess lost 1.4% after its sales dropped 2.9% to 6.94 billion euros in 2006. The company posted a profit in 2006 of 197 million euros.

Deutsche Post, the German mail and logistics group, fell 5.8% after forecasting a 7 % fall in operating profit for 2007. Friends Provident the U.K. provider of life insurance, pension products, and asset-management services, declined 5% after it reported that 2006 pretax profit fell 34% and underlying pretax profit fell 3%.

Oil and gold

Oil prices rose but were hovering just under $57 a barrel Tuesday as traders responded to a drop the day before and looked for market drivers. Crude oil for April delivery rose 37 cents to $56.96 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The April contract, which expires Tuesday, fell 52 cents the day before amid expectations of rising crude stocks. On London ICE Futures exchange, May Brent crude gained 32 cents to $60.84 a barrel.

Gold prices rose. Gold traded in London at $654.40 per troy ounce, up from $653.50 late Monday. In Zurich, gold rose to $652.85, up from $651.80. Silver opened in London at $13.13 per troy ounce, down from $13.15.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar was mixed Tuesday against other major currencies in European trading. The euro traded at $1.3284, down from $1.3301 late Monday in New York. Other dollar rates compared with late rates Monday in New York included: 117.77 Japanese yen, up from 117.59; 1.2151 Swiss francs, up from 1.2124. The British pound traded at $1.9556, up from $1.9443.