A bank rally helped push European equities higher after a two-day decline.
The
Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.6 percent to 389.9 at the close in
London, with equities beginning a rally in the last two hours of
trading. Standard Chartered Plc led lenders higher as it rose to its
highest price since October. The broad benchmark gauge earlier slipped
as much as 0.2 percent after an index tracking euro-area manufacturing
and services increased less than forecast.
Investors
are waiting for Thursday’s European Central Bank meeting for details
about the quantitative-easing program announced in January. The ECB will
also give its first growth and inflation forecasts for 2017 for clues
on the duration of the plan. The central bank’s move sparked a rally of
almost 15 percent in the Stoxx 600 this year through the end of
February.
A
final reading of a Purchasing Managers Index for the manufacturing and
services industries across the euro zone rose to a seven-month high of
53.3 in February from 52.6 the previous month, Markit Economics said.
Another release showed January retail sales in the region climbed more
than estimated.
Source: Bloomberg
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