European stocks closed slightly higher on Tuesday, extending fresh records with further support from the defense sector, aerospace companies, and luxury brands. The Eurozone's STOXX 50 advanced 0.2% to 5,691 and the pan-European STOXX 600 advanced 0.3% to 574. Hermes jumped 1.5%, extending its recent strong momentum to an 11% jump in the last 5 sessions amid expectations of improved margins for luxury brands. Also, Ferrari and LVMH added more than 0.7%. In the meantime, Airbus and Safran advanced close to 2% each, tracking gains across the aviation sector worldwide as GE Aerospace posted strong results for the third quarter. Also, Stellantis rallied close to 5% on strong sales in September. On the other hand, Novo Nordisk dropped more than 1% as its Chairman Lund announced he will step down from the board amid internal disputes. L'Oreal inched higher ahead of its results after the bell.