* Germany's Wirecard soars 26 percent
* ConvaTec jumps after report of buyout interests
* Ferguson tumbles on disappointing outlook
* Carnival drops on cutting forecast (Updates to closing)By Susan MathewMarch 26 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Tuesday,snapping a four-day losing streak, boosted by healthcare stocksand on indications that UK Prime Minister Theresa May's deal toexit the European Union could gain some support.
The pan-region STOXX 600 index added to early gainsand rose 0.8 percent, led by Switzerland andParis's near 1 percent jump, followed by Frankfurt's 0.6 percent gain. Milan rose 0.4 percent, while London'sFTSE closed 0.26 percent higher.
Dublin , considered a barometer of Brexit mood,bounced off a five-week low hit early in the session to end 0.2percent higher after two eurosceptic lawmakers indicated theymight agree to support May's Brexit deal after parliament tookcontrol over the Brexit process for a day. Lawmakers will vote on a range of Brexit options onWednesday, giving parliament a chance to indicate whether it canagree on a deal with closer ties to Brussels before trying topush the government in that direction."Anything that can be perceived as lowering the 'hardBrexit' risk would reduce the probability of one the majordownside risks to the global economic outlook," said KallumPickering, senior economist at Berenberg."Be it the parliament in the UK, which wants to retain closeties to the EU, gaining more control, or indeed Theresa Mayhaving a better chance of passing her deal."Nearly three years after the 2016 EU membership referendum,and four days before Britain was supposed to leave the bloc, itremains unclear how, when or even if Brexit will take place,with parliament and the nation still bitterly divided.Over the last four sessions, regional stocks had lost 2.6percent driven by concerns about a softening global economy,uncertainty over Brexit and a possible U.S recession.
Another note of caution on Tuesday came from a survey thatshowed German consumer morale deteriorated unexpectedly headinginto April, suggesting household spending could weaken in thesecond quarter. German payments company Wirecard soared 26percent, leading gains on the STOXX 600, after an investigationat the company's Singapore office found no material wrongdoing.The healthcare index was the biggest gainer amongSTOXX 600 sectors, up 1.5 percent driven by gains in ConvaTecGroup and Novartis . ConvaTec rose nearly 6 percent after Swedish business dailyDagens Industri said several players are running the numbers onthe UK medical device maker for a possible buyout after thestock's recent slump. Airbus' 2 percent gains was among the biggest boostto stocks in Paris, after the planemaker signed a deal worthtens of billions of dollars to sell 300 aircraft to China. London's FTSE 100 was pulled higher by energy stocksas oil prices climbed, although a recovery in the pound put anupper limit on the FTSE's gains.Ocado rose 4 percent as the British onlinesupermarket partnered with Australia's Coles Group -
its fifth major overseas deal in less than 18 months. Meanwhile, Ferguson Plc was among the biggestweights among European stocks, falling 7.2 percent after theworld's largest heating and plumbing equipment supplier saidtrading profit will likely be at the lower end of analystexpectations this year. World's largest cruise operator Carnival dropped 8.5percent after it cut its annual profit forecast, expecting a hitfrom higher fuel prices and a strong dollar. Banks and auto stocks were the only laggardson the STOXX benchmark, down around 0.2 percent each. (Reporting by Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh and Susan Mathew inBengaluru, Editing by Andrew Heavens, Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)