Weakness in the insurance and oil sectors in the eurozone overcame advances in the technology and personal care sectors to send the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down 0.4 percent to 1,152.84 on Tuesday.

In France, telecommunications equipment supplier Alcatel released second-quarter earnings figures two weeks ahead of schedule. It said that its second-quarter revenues were 8 percent higher than the same period last year at €3.15 billion. The company also predicted double digit earnings growth for the full year as well as an operating margin of 10 percent for the year. Some analysts, however, were skeptical of that prediction.

Meanwhile, cosmetics maker L’Oreal gained 3.6 percent to €62.30 after the announcement that its first half sales rose 4.1 percent to €7.163 billion.

On this report, UBS upgraded L’Oreal from “neutral” to “buy” and raised its price target per share to €70, up from €62.

Shares in oil companies were down even though crude oil prices were up above $60 per barrel again. Norsk Hydro fell 0.9 percent to NKr630, Royal Dutch was down 1.1 percent to €53.40, and Finland’s Neste Oil also lost 1.1 percent to €23.05.