European Shares Rebound As Investors Seek Bargains

European stocks rose on Friday to snap two days of declines, as investors took in stride a new round of sanctions against Russia, the prospect of tighter monetary policy and China’s worsening Covid-19 outbreak.

The pan European Stoxx 600 rose a little over 1 percent to 459.68 after closing 0.2 percent lower on Thursday.

The German DAX surged 1.2 percent, France’s CAC 40 index climbed 1.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 1 percent.

Volvo shares rallied 2.5 percent. The Swedish truck maker said it would set aside provisions worth 4 billion crowns ($423.2 million) to cover uncertainty caused by the Russian-Ukraine conflict.

Banco BPM soared almost 15 percent after France’s Credit Agricole SA acquired a minority stake in the Italian lender. Shares of the latter were up 1.1 percent.

Higher crude prices helped lift energy stocks in London, with BP plc climbing 2.6 percent and Royal Dutch Shell adding 3 percent.

Mining giant BHP rose over 2 percent after issuing an update on BHP Petroleum and Woodside merger. Peers Anglo American and Antofagasta were up around 2 percent.

Sound Energy, an upstream gas company, plunge nearly 8 percent. The company said that it has decided not to make an offer to buy Angus Energy Plc, a British onshore oil and gas firm, after due diligence review process.

Klöckner & Co SE, a German steel and metal company, advanced 4.6 percent. The company reported a considerably stronger operating income (EBITDA) before material special effects in the first quarter of 2022 than originally expected.

Source: Read Full Article