LONDON, June 5: Europe's main stock markets edged higher on Tuesday, with the mining sector forging upwards on strong metals prices, and as global equities shook off this week's Chinese downturn, dealers said.

Trade was somewhat subdued before an interest rate decision from the European Central Bank, which was widely forecast to raise eurozone borrowing costs to 4.0 per cent on Wednesday.

In late morning deals on Tuesday, London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose 0.26 per cent to 6,681.40, Frankfurt's DAX 30 added 0.03 per cent to 7,979.46 points and in Paris the CAC 40 gained just 0.01 per cent to 6,126.15.

US stocks eked out modest gains on Monday that were enough for fresh record highs as the latest flurry of corporate deals and a drop in bond yields offset jitters from the recent slide in Shanghai.

Japanese shares ended above the key 18,000 points level Tuesday for the first time for over three months after Wall Street set a fresh record high overnight, dealers said.

In Europe, metals and mining stocks were among the biggest gainers amid continuing strength in raw materials prices.

In London, resources giant BHP Billiton shares rallied 1.82 per cent to 1,284 pence, Kazakhmys leapt 1.54 per cent to 1,320 pence and Xstrata added 0.51 per cent to 2,964 pence.

German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp saw its shares jump 0.90 per cent to 46.22 euros in Frankfurt, while sector leader Arcelor Mittal won 0.87 per cent in value to 47.35 euros in Paris.

In US deals on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.06 per cent to close at 13,676.32 points as the blue-chip index reversed early losses to set another all-time high.

The Nasdaq composite gained 0.17 per cent to 2,618.29 and the Standard Poor's 500 index added 0.18 per cent to 1,539.18 points, another record close for the broad-market indicator.—AFP