Carmakers drive Europe higher

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters): A wave of central bank easing and positive soundings from the earnings season buoyed world stocks on Tuesday, while Britain's pound fell before the expected confirmation of hard-Brexit advocate Boris Johnson as the country's prime minister.

Corporate results from oil bellwether Halliburton, Swiss bank UBS and Apple supplier AMS all helped Europe's STOXX 600 benchmark add 0.5 per cent to Monday's gains.

The auto industry also gained as German parts makers Hella and French peer Faurecia surged nearly 6 per cent and tyre maker Continental rose 4 per cent despite a profit warning, putting the sector on track for its best day since April 01.

"The results are coming in and have helped the market today and we are still under the influence of interest rates," said Francois Savary, the chief investment officer of Prime Partners, referring to expectations of US and ECB rate cuts.

He also said Wall Street earnings had provided no real worries so far and this week's results from Facebook, Amazon.com and Google parent Alphabet would "drive the market up the road."

Among currencies, the dollar reached a two-week high after US President Donald Trump and congressional leaders agreed on Monday to a two-year extension of the US debt limit, ending the threat a government default later this year.

The New Zealand dollar led G10 losses after its central bank said it had "begun scoping a project to refresh our unconventional monetary policy strategy and implementation," although it added it was at a very early stage.