By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets erased losses and
moved higher on Tuesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin
signaled he doesn't want to split Ukraine, easing tensions in the
crisis that has kept investors on edge recently.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.4% to 327.11, building on a
1.1% rally from Monday, which marked its biggest advance in almost
two weeks.
Banks helped lift the benchmark, with shares of Intesa Sanpaolo
SpA up 4% in Milan, BNP Paribas SA up 1.7% in Paris and Banco
Santander SA 1% higher in Madrid.
Adding pressure in Europe, Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) fell 0.5%
after Fitch Ratings placed the telecoms firm on rating watch
negative after the deal to buy Spanish cable operator Ono SA. Fitch
said it would likely downgrade Vodafone by one notch if it acquires
Ono without taking other measures to reduce debt.
Shares of Scania AB fell 3.5% after an independent committee
formed to assess Volkswagen AG's bid for the Swedish truck maker
recommended that Scania shareholders reject the offer. Volkswagen
shares rose 0.4%.
Resolution Ltd. slumped 5.1% after the insurance firm swung to
profit but said founders Clive Cowdery and John Tiner will step
down. The founders steered the company through a restructuring
phase that is now complete.
More broadly, European stock indexes reversed midday after Putin
said Russia wishes no harm to Ukraine and isn't seeking a partition
of the country. Some analysts were worried that Russia would try
and take over larger parts of Ukraine after gaining control of the
Crimea region. Putin also took another step toward annexing Crimea,
brushing off Western sanctions.
Ahead of the speech, U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague urged
Russia to begin talks with Ukraine to resolve the issue over Crimea
and said "continuing to ignore those calls will bring serious
consequences for Russia." The EU and the U.S. on Monday imposed
visa bans and asset freezes on Russian and Crimean officials linked
to the unrest in the region.
Russia's MICEX Index rose 1.7% to 1,307.63.
Elsewhere in Europe, Germany's DAX 30 index picked up 0.5% to
9,222.87, while France's CAC 40 index jumped 0.8% to 4,304.31. The
U.K.'s FTSE 100 index added 0.2% to 6,581.51.
Aside from the Ukraine-Russia standoff, the markets looked to
fresh macroeconomic data on the euro zone. Eurostat said the
currency union had a surplus in their trade of goods with the rest
of the world in January, an indication that the region's economic
recovery continued at the start of the year.
Investors also digested the March ZEW survey that measures
German investor confidence. The indicator of economic sentiment
slid 9.1 points to 46.6, missing analyst expectations of 52 and
marking a third straight month on the decline. ZEW President
Clemens Fuest said the "Crimea crisis is weighing on experts'
economic expectations for Germany," but stressed that the economic
upswing is not at risk.
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