Tech, miners lift European shares as Omicron worries fade (updated)

Mid Penn Bancorp

07/12/2021 10:17

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    * Tech stocks bounce after recent selloff
    * China policy easing lifts miners
    * Defensive sectors eke out slim gains

 (Adds analyst's comment, updates prices)
    By Anisha Sircar
    Dec 7 (Reuters) - European stocks rose on Tuesday to their
highest in more than a week, boosted by a strong rebound in
technology shares as worries about the Omicron coronavirus
variant ebbed, and gains in mining sector after China eased its
monetary policy.
    The continent-wide STOXX 600 index  .STOXX  gained 1.8% to
bounce back to levels before Nov. 26, when the index suffered
its biggest selloff this year on worries about the new virus
variant.
    "You're seeing a surge in optimism as investors are saying,
the knee-jerk defensive move during the big selloff may have
been too hasty, as Omicron may not be as hideous as previously
thought," said AJ Bell financial analyst Danni Hewson.
    Technology stocks  .SX8P  climbed 3.9% after hitting
seven-week lows on Monday amid a wider selloff in high-growth
names.
    "There's relief that although global fiscal policy is set to
tighten over the next six months, it's not going to be within
the next month - and with Omicron, there's even more of a
wait-and-see policy, which is giving investors confidence in
tech and other stocks," added Hewson.
    The STOXX 600 is now hovering around 5% below its record
high from mid-November, while the Euro STOXX 50 volatility index
 .V2TX , Europe's fear gauge, fell to 25.6. At the peak of the
selloff in markets, it hit 33.1. 
    Mining stocks  .SXPP  jumped 3.7% after China's central bank
cut the amount of cash banks must hold in reserve, lifting metal
prices on hopes of an economic boost to the world's top metal
consumer.  MET/L 
    Among individual stocks, British American Tobacco  BATS.L 
gained 2% after backing its full-year forecast, buoyed by more
people switching to the tobacco giant's vaping and oral nicotine
products.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2SS1T2
    Carmaker Stellantis  STLA.MI  advanced 1.7% on plans to
generate around 4 billion euros ($4.52 billion) by 2026 and
about 20 billion euros by 2030 from software offerings.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS8N2RL01F
    Telecom Italia  TLIT.MI  climbed 1.3% after picking Goldman
Sachs  GS.N  and LionTree to advise Italy's biggest telecoms
group on the takeover bid by U.S. fund giant KKR  KKR.N .
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2SR0MM
    French payment firm Worldline  WLN.PA  rose 1.1% after
Eurobank  EURBr.AT , one of Greece's four largest lenders,
agreed to sell 80% of its merchant acquiring business to the
French payments firm in an effort to strengthen its capital
base. Eurobank advanced 1.5%.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2SS0VF 
    Defensive sectors such as utilities  .SX6P , telecoms
 .SX3P  and food & beverages  .SX3P  were among the smallest
gainers. 

($1 = 0.8858 euros)

 (Reporting by Anisha Sircar in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V
and Shinjini Ganguli)
 ((Anisha.Sircar@thomsonreuters.com;))