By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch

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Italian stocks on Tuesday gained ground, aided by hopes that a new government can be formed without an election.
The Italy FTSE MIB /zigman2/quotes/210598024/delayed IT:I945 +1.22% rose 1.14% to 20913.64.
Reports indicated that the 5-Star Movement was on the cusp of reaching a deal with the Democratic Party to form a new coalition. If an election is held instead, an automatic VAT increase is triggered.
Elsewhere in Europe, stocks turned higher. The German DAX /zigman2/quotes/210597999/delayed DX:DAX +1.59% rose 0.38% to 11701.99 and the French CAC 40 /zigman2/quotes/210597958/delayed FR:PX1 +1.78% gained 0.18% to 5360.40.
The U.K. FTSE 100 /zigman2/quotes/210598409/delayed UK:UKX +0.56% declined 0.21% to 7080.23 after a three-day break.
After a 269-point advance for the Dow industrials /zigman2/quotes/210598065/realtime DJIA +1.61% on Monday, U.S. stock futures /zigman2/quotes/209948968/delayed ES00 -0.09% were a bit higher.
Focus stocks
Deutsche Boerse /zigman2/quotes/205502669/delayed DE:DB1 +0.40% shares fell 1.9% as the exchange operator revealed a tax probe.
Insulation maker Rockwool International /zigman2/quotes/200482992/delayed DK:ROCK.B -0.08% dropped 4%, extending losses after cutting guidance.
Airport operator Flughafen Zurich /zigman2/quotes/208931828/delayed CH:FHZN +2.40% rose after reporting a first-half profit rise of 10% and saying its annual profit will grow 5%. It also reduced its passenger growth guidance to 2% growth from 3% growth.




















