(by M.Riley)
European stocks rose, led by banks after ING and Barclays posted profit that beat expectations.
The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 0.4 percent to 235.86 at 10:19 a.m. in London, with banks and insurers accounting for 44 percent of the gains. The Stoxx 50 added 0.3 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50, a benchmark for the 12 countries using the euro, climbed 0.6 percent.
Xetra Dax added 0.6 per cent to 3,845.12. In Paris, the CAC-40 gained 0.8 per cent to 3,635.96 and London’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.3 per cent to 4,420.1.
Barclays, the UK bank, rose 2.3 per cent to 481p after it beat expectations as first-half pre-tax profit rose 23 per cent, thanks to strong growth at its investment banking business Barclays Capital.
ING Group, Europe’s largest insurer, said lower risk costs and better results at its banking division enabled it to report a forecast-beating 38 per cent rise in second-quarter core profit. The Dutch group said it was confident about full-year results but, said it was not its policy to issue forecasts. The shares were up 3.5 per cent to €19.66.
HVB Group climbed 3.4 percent to 13.30 euros. Germany’s No. 2 bank reported a second straight quarterly profit, helped by asset sales, and reiterated its full-year revenue and earnings targets. Net income was 155 million euros in the second quarter, compared with a 217 million-euro loss a year earlier.
Infineon rose 2.7 per cent to €8.69, while STMicro added 0.8 per cent to €14.96. Philips, the Dutch electronics maker was up 1.8 per cent to €19.79 and ASML, the maker of chip manufacturing equipment climbed 2.9 per cent to €11.49.
Cap Gemini, the IT services group, was a strong gainer, up 2.9 per cent to €25.30, while Dutch computer services company Getronics also attracted bargain hunters after two sessions of sharp falls following disappointing results on Monday. It reclaimed 3.9 per cent to €1.61.
Shares of European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co., Europe’s biggest aerospace company, rose 1.5 percent to 22.46 euros in Paris. Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., the airline controlled by U.K. billionaire Richard Branson, has ordered 26 A340-600 planes from Airbus SAS worth about $5.5 billion as it expands its network. EADS owns 80 percent of Airbus SAS.