22.08.201720:37:00UTC+00European Shares Climb, Lifted by Miners

A whirlwind of results for heavyweight mining stocks and a plummet in Provident Financial shares supported European shares on Tuesday, as the region's benchmark indexes finally ended a three-day losing streak.

The pan-European STOXX 600 climbed 0.8 percent while euro zone blue chips added 0.9 percent, also bolstered by the weaker euro. Italian blue chips dropped 0.1 percent, as new political concerns weighed on the country's government bonds.

The basic resources sector continued to advance and was the best-performing sector, higher by 1.7 percent, helped by the rally in iron ore prices. Miners BHP Billiton and Antofagasta also lifted the sector, climbing 2.1 percent and two percent respectively.

U.K.'s Provident Financial plunged 66 percent after it issued its second profit warning in two months and canceled its dividend. The subprime lender also announced that its chief executive is leaving. Shares of the lender have been 40 percent lower for 2017 ahead of the profits, its current losses are almost 80 percent.

The European corporate earnings season is coming to a close, as 87 percent of MSCI Europe companies have provided updates for the second quarter.