Stephen Pope Comments: European Shares Gain For 3rd Day; ECB, BoE Eyed

July 8, 2010, Reuters

European shares gained on Thursday for the third consecutive session, with A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) jumping after it lifts its 2010 guidance, and banks rising as investor sentiment improved.

Later, investors will eye the Bank of England and the European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate decisions, though the ECB news conference is set to be the main focus of attention, with the bank stress tests likely to be in the spotlight.

By 0707 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares was up 0.7 percent at 1,013.13 points. The Euro STOXX 50 .STOXX50E, the euro zone's blue-chip index gained 0.7 percent to 2,651.42 points.

"European shares will rise today, the IMF has lifted its forecast on growth and the U.S. had a good solid day yesterday," said Stephen Pope, chief global equity strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald. "There is a feeling earnings are going to be better than expected."

Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk soared 6.7 percent after it upgraded its earnings guidance for the full year, saying its container shipping business had rebounded faster than expected. Banking stocks featured among the top performers, continuing their gains from the previous two sessions. The STOXX Europe 600 Banks .SX7P rose 1.5 percent.