European stocks continue to rise, supported by gains in the banking and defense sectors.

European stocks rose slightly at the start of trading on Tuesday, after jumping 1% in the previous session, as investors focused on corporate earnings and escalating trade tensions between the United States and China.

At 07:11 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.1% to 572.56 points.

The French CAC 40 index was steady at 8,210 points, the German DAX added a slight 0.1% to 24,280 points, and the British FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 9,433 points.

Banking stocks rose 0.5%, while aerospace and defense shares gained 0.4%, while healthcare and technology shares fell 0.2% each.

As for individual stocks, Assa Abloy, the world's largest lock manufacturer, rose 3.4% after announcing higher-than-expected operating profits for the third quarter.

HSBC shares rose 1.7% after the appointment of David Lindberg, a former NatWest executive, as chief executive of the bank's UK business.

Shares of French voucher and benefits card provider Edenred rose 10.9% after it reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is scheduled to speak at the Norges Bank climate conference in Oslo later today.

Regarding trade tensions between the United States and China, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is scheduled to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this week in an attempt to prevent an escalation of US tariffs on Chinese goods.