By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks gained Thursday, with
Russian shares climbing after European leaders brokered a
cease-fire deal in Ukraine.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.9% at 375.32, aided by
strengthening in Russian shares as Russian President Vladimir Putin
said an agreement has been reached for a cease-fire in Ukraine,
starting Sunday. The deal, which calls for both sides to pull back
heavy weapons, follows 10 months of fighting between Ukrainian
troops and pro-Russian separatists.
Russia's MICEX swung out of the red and rose 2.3% to 1,803.82,
pushing its year-to-date gain to 29%. The ruble gained briefly
against the dollar after the cease-fire reports, but the greenback
(USDRUB) eventually returned back above the 66 rubles level, at
66.459 rubles.
On the major European benchmarks, Germany's DAX surged 1.8% to
10,943.75, and France's CAC 40 picked up 1.1% to 4,732.. The U.K.'s
FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 6,830.70. Meanwhile, the British pound
(GBPUSD) rose against the dollar, trading at $1.5361 after the Bank
of England signaled it remains on course to raise the country's key
interest rate.
Greece's Athex Composite climbed 4.2% to 826.58, after
negotiations on Greece's debt failed to break a deadlock between
the country's new government and its creditors.
Meanwhile, Sweden's OMX Stockholm 30 index leapt 2.4 to 1,630.50
after Sweden's central bank, the Riksbank, cut its main interest
rate to negative territory and said it will begin bond-buying.
"There are signs that underlying inflation has bottomed out, but
the situation abroad is now more uncertain, and this increases the
risk that inflation will not rise sufficiently fast," the central
bank said. The krona (EURSEK) fell sharply against the euro, with
the euro buying 9.6299. It also fell against the dollar (USDSEK),
leaving the greenback to buy 8.4983..
Among individual stocks, Credit Suisse Group AG shares jumped
9.3%, after the Swiss bank said it swung to a profit of 921 million
Swiss francs ($990.8 million) in the fourth quarter.
Total SA shares were up 1.3% after the French oil producer
outlined plans to cut jobs and sell assets following its swing to a
$5.66 billion net loss in the three months ending in December.
Shares of Renault SA rallied 10% as the carmaker posted a sharp
rise in 2014 net profit to 1.9 billion euros ($2.3 billion), with
stronger sales in Europe offsetting poor results in Russia and
Brazil.
Finland's Outokumpu Oyj topped the Stoxx 600 by rising 14.6%
after the stainless steel maker posted a narrower fourth-quarter
loss and projected positive results for the first quarter.
Electricité de France SA shares dropped 3.7% after the power
utility's 2014 net profit rise of 5.2% fell short of
expectations.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires