Following a slow start, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> accelerated gains and ended the session up 0.4 percent at 7,537.92 points after a 2.2 percent loss on Monday.

While most European bourses were back in the black, Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, argued that with trade tensions persisting, there was no reason for sentiment to shift.

"With no change to fundamentals, there is little hope that this is anything more than a mere dead cat bounce", Lawler wrote.

Among individual stocks, cruise company Carnival posted the best performance, up more than 3 percent. Its shares plunged more than 11 percent during the previous session after it cut profit targets.

The sectors which weighed the most on the FTSE during Monday's sell-off provided some support with oil majors and miners accounting for most of the gains as the price of oil rose on the back of uncertainty over Libyan oil exports. [O/R]

Among fallers, mid-cap Inmarsat dropped 12.5 percent after Eutelsat said it did not intend to make an offer for the British group, just a day after the French satellite group said it was considering going head-to-head with EchoStar in a battle for the British company.

Among small stocks, struggling British floor coverings retailer Carpetright fell 5.7 percent after it reported a loss for 2017-18 in another sign that the UK high street is struggling.

(Reporting by Julien Ponthus and Kit Rees; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)

By Julien Ponthus and Kit Rees