UPDATE 1-Recovery optimism lifts European stocks; tech rallies as Nasdaq hits record high
(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Retail, financial services, bank stocks lead gains
* German shares gain as business climate index rises
* Focus on BoE policy meeting later in the day
* Tecan hits record high after Paramit acquisition (Adds comments; updates prices)
June 24 (Reuters) – European shares rose on Thursday as investors focused on a steady economic rebound against the backdrop of fears of a tapering in global monetary stimulus, while technology stocks jumped following an overnight rally in their U.S. peers.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.6% by 0803 GMT, with financial services, retail and bank stocks among the biggest gainers.
Technology stocks jumped 0.7%, tracking gains in the tech-heavy U.S. Nasdaq index, which closed at a record high on Wednesday.
The benchmark STOXX 600 has seen sharp swings this week, with losses on Wednesday almost erasing gains from the previous two days as mixed messages from the U.S. Federal Reserve left investors uncertain about central banks’ approach to tapering their massive stimulus in the face of rising inflation.
However, with the European Central Bank reaffirming its accommodative stance on monetary policy earlier this month, analysts said they did not expect European equities to continue to slide.
“With the ECB staying adamant that it’s not time to consider withdrawing monetary policy support yet, we don’t expect (Wednesday’s declines) to lead to a trend reversal,” said Charalambos Pissouros, senior market analyst at JFD Group.
German shares gained 0.5% as data showed the business climate index rose again in June after hitting a two-year high last month, while nervousness over a Bank of England policy meeting on Thursday weighed on the FTSE 100 .
Although the UK central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged at record lows, investors will be paying close attention to its tone on inflation and whether more members would vote to scale back its bond-buying programme.
“A more optimistic language (on inflation) could be interpreted as a sign that they are getting closer in slowing further their bond purchases,” Pissouros said.
In company news, Swiss laboratory instruments maker Tecan Group jumped 11.3% to a record high after it said it would buy U.S. medical devices and life sciences instruments group Paramit Corp for $1 billion.
French retailer Carrefour SA rose 0.6% after it said late on Wednesday it had started considering possible consolidation, divestitures or tie-ups of its foreign subsidiaries.
Airbus shares gained 0.7% even as regulators called for more rigorous checks when pulling some its jets out of pandemic storage following flawed cockpit readings that could suggest blocked sensors.
Source: Read Full Article