EADS, Credit Agricole, Salzgitter advance, ASM International falls
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European shares jumped on Friday as oil producers put in a strong performance, although data showing that the euro zone tumbled into recession served to underline the gloomy economic backdrop.
The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 rose 2.3% to 208.83, paring losses over the last twelve months to roughly 43% as energy companies fronted the advance.
Shares in BP shot up 8%, while Total shares climbed 5.1%.
The gains came after U.S. stocks raced higher Thursday as a downtrodden market nearly recouped three days of stiff losses in one crazed session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied sharply after falling below 8,000 for the first time since October, with the move giving investors hope that they may be near the bottom of the market.
"It's a good sign, but it's only one little sign, and I think that you would want to look over a longer period of time before you could improve the probability that we have definitely hit the bottom of this bear market," said Edmund Shing, strategist at BNP Paribas in Paris.
"Over the next couple of months, we are likely to be bouncing around in a wide trading range until we see a little bit of stability on the economic outlook," he added.
Economic data out Friday revealed that the 15-nation euro zone moved into its first recession since the debut of the single currency nearly a decade ago. See full story.
Om a national level, the French CAC-40 index climbed 2.6% to 3,354.15, the German DAX 30 index jumped 4% to 4,834.03 and the U.K. FTSE 100 index shot up 3.9% to 4,332.48.
EADS, Credit Agricole up
Individual standouts included European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. , up 3.7%.
The European aerospace and defense giant returned to a profit in the third quarter and raised its 2008 profit forecast. See full story.
Credit Agricole shares advanced 4.7%.
The lender's third-quarter net profit fell to 365 million euros, from 954 million euros at the same point a year ago, but came in well ahead of analyst expectations.
"Credit Agricole reported a third-quarter net income substantially higher than our estimate of 42 million euros," noted analysts at Deutsche Bank. They noted that the difference came from capital gains and a strong level of activity at the bank's investment banking arm, Calyon.
Shares in German steelmaker Salzgitter jumped 6.4% after third-quarter net profit rose almost 29% to 252.1 million euros, also beating analyst expectations. The company also lifted its fiscal year outlook.
ASM talks end
However, shares in ASM International fell 26.3% after it said that Applied Materials Inc. and Francisco Partners will not make a combined offer for ASM's front-end operations.
Also, Dexia shares fell 10.9%.
The bank agreed to sell its struggling FSA bond-insurance unit for $722 million as its also reported Friday a loss of 1.54 billion euros ($1.96 billion) for the third quarter.
