European shares end higher as defensives find favour

(Reuters) - European shares finished modestly higher on Tuesday, as telecom stocks surged after Britain's Vodafone maintained its dividend, while defensive stocks were broadly in favour as investors weighed risks from many countries starting to lift lockdowns.Britain's blue-chip FTSE 100 outperformed its continental European peers, rising 0.9% with help from a weaker pound and upbeat earnings reports. Euro zone stocks were up just 0.1%. [.L]The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3%, with..