Banking sector rebound boosts regional indices

Eurostoxx 50: 2,337.51 (+65.74) Frankfurt DAX: 5,970.96 (+204.48) Paris CAC: 3,171.34 (+87.27)EUROPEAN STOCKS advanced yesterday, as policy makers discussed deploying $1.3 trillion in funds to help contain the euro area's debt crisis.

Banks and mining companies rebounded from their biggest selloffs in more than two weeks.

“The markets want a three or four-point plan that is credible and offers a long-term solution to the crisis,” said Sailesh Bhundia, a London-based senior portfolio manager at EFG Asset Manage-ment.

“People want to feel bullish, but they can’t with this political overhang,” he said.

In Greece, prime minister George Papandreou won a parliamentary vote on further austerity measures designed to secure more aid under the 2010 bailout.

The Stoxx 600 completed its fourth week of gains as concern eased that Europe’s leaders remain far from agreeing on a strategy to contain the crisis.

UniCredit surged 6.6 per cent to €90.2.

Banco Santander rose 2.9 per cent to €6.03 and Société Générale gained 5.6 per cent to €18.97 as a gauge of Europe’s lenders rebounded from Thurs-day’s 4 per cent sell-off.

Antofagasta increased 5.5 per cent to 1,096p as copper rose in London.

Valeo advanced 6.6 per cent to €35.85 after France’s second-largest auto-parts maker confirmed its 2011 guidance and reported a 14 per cent increase in third-quarter revenue.

Lundin surged 9.8 per cent to 156.20 kronor after Statoil doubled its estimate for a North Sea discovery.

Neste Oil Oyj rallied 5.7 per cent to €7.83 after Credit Suisse raised its recommendation for the Finnish oil refiner to “outperform” from “neutral”.

Scania gained 5 per cent to 107.60 kronor after the Swedish truck maker reported a 2 per cent increase in third-quarter profit to 2.34 billion kronor, beating analysts’ estimates.

Safran plunged 8 per cent to €22.20 after demand for spare parts came in at the bottom end of its forecast for the full year.

Ericsson lost 2 per cent to 66.75 kronor after Evolution lowered its recommendation for the world’s largest maker of wireless networks to “neutral”. – (Bloomberg)