Stocks rebound after two days of losses

Eurostoxx 50:2,303.20 (+27.28) Frankfurt DAX:6,005.72 (+77.04) Paris CAC:3,151.12 (+47.52)

EUROPEAN STOCKS rose yesterday, with the Stoxx Europe 600 rebounding from two days of losses.

Vodafone gained 1.8 per cent after increasing its full-year earnings forecast as profit beat analysts’ estimates. Repsol climbed 6.3 per cent after raising its prediction for recoverable reserves in Argentina.

Banks rallied as Société Générale, France’s second-biggest bank, and Lloyds Banking both gained more than 4 per cent. The Stoxx 600 rose 0.9 per cent to 240.50 at the close.

National benchmark indexes gained in every western-European market except Luxembourg and Portugal.

The yield on 10-year Italian bonds rose to 6.7 per cent after yesterday, climbing to a euro-era record. European stocks had fallen over the past two days, as two Berlusconi allies defected to the opposition and a third one quit.

Repsol surged 6.3 per cent to €22.23 after its YPF unit in Argentina raised estimates for the Loma La Lata field in northern Patagonia to 927 million barrels of shale oil.

Societe Generale shares rose 7.3 per cent to €18.77 after the bank said it would not pay a dividend for 2011, which will reduce its capital needs under European Banking Authority requirements.

The lender also said third-quarter profit fell 31 per cent, hurt by a €333 million-euro pretax writedown on Greek sovereign debt and lower trading revenue.

Net income dropped to €622 million from €896 million a year earlier.

Intesa Sanpaolo rose 3.5 per cent to €1.20 after reporting third-quarter net income of €527 million, beating the median analyst estimate for profit of €314 million. Biocare Holding soared 6.9 per cent to 11.11 Swiss francs after the world’s second-biggest dental implant maker posted third-quarter sales of €128.2 million.

Adecco lost 5.5 per cent to 37.59 Swiss francs in Zurich after the world’s largest supplier of temporary workers said North American revenue fell in the third quarter, when sales from the region fell 6.6 per cent to €903 million.

SKF slipped 4.4 per cent to 136.50 kroner in Stockholm after the world’s largest maker of ball-bearings said representatives from the European Commission raided two of its facilities as part of an anti-trust investigation. – (Bloomberg)