(by Dr. Goldfinger)

European shares rose from their near 2004 lows today. Insurers and auto stocks lifted markets, but the modest recovery was marred by a fall in oil giant BP whose profits came in at the bottom end of expectations.

The FTSE Eurotop 300 recovered from its low of 2004 on Monday, rising 0.4 per cent to 960.66. The Frankfurt Dax added 0.6 per cent to 3,774.23 and the CAC-40 in Paris rose 0.3 per cent to 3,544.79. London’s FTSE 100 added 0.2 per cent to 4,296.5.

In the insurance sector, Swiss reinsurer Converium said it was seeking to plug a $385 million hole in its reserves.

Converium, whose shares tumbled last week when it issued a profit warning, said it will go cap in hand to investors for $250-400 million to shore up its U.S. casualty business.

UK life assurer Prudential beat expectations with its first-half operating profits on an achieved basis rose 42 per cent to £563m helped by strong sales growth in Asia, the US and Britain, as well as higher values for its investments. The stock added 2.1 per cent to 441.79.

Despite the high oil price BP’s second quarter profits were at the bottom end of market forecasts, down 23 per cent from a year ago to $3.908bn. But the oil giant said it would continue its share buyback programme. The stock fell 1 per cent to 484.72p.