European stocks ended higher on Tuesday after a directionless day, as the rumour mill ground into action over bid speculation.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 climbed 0.5 per cent, or 7.99 points, to 1,587.66, led by Syngenta which rose 5.3 per cent to SFr264.00 after Morgan Stanley raised the target price to SFr300 from SFr220.