By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets broke a five-day
losing streak on Friday, with regional banks bouncing back after an
ugly selloff spurred by troubles at the Portuguese Espirito Santo
conglomerate.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.4% to 337.73, trimming its
weekly slide to 2.9%.
The benchmark dropped 1.1% on Thursday, when concerns about the
robustness of Espirito Santo International (ESI) sent shivers
through the European financial sector. Trading in shares of Banco
Espirito Santo SA and Espirito Santo Financial Group SA --
subsidiaries of ESI -- was halted on Thursday and remained
suspended on Friday. Read: Portugal's banking turmoil revives
darkest nightmares about Europe
Portugal's PSI 20 index closed at the lowest level since October
amid the tumult on Thursday, but climbed 1.5% to 6,196.40 on
Friday.
Southern European banks also rebounded after sharp losses, with
shares of Banca Popolare di Milano Scarl up 2.1% and Banco Popular
EspaƱol SA up 1.4%.
Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (ITYBY) rallied 4% in London after
the tobacco company confirmed it's in talks buy assets and brands
from Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) and Lorillard Inc. (LO).
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3% to 6,694.30. France's
CAC 40 index gained 0.5% to 4,321.47, while Germany's DAX 30 index
climbed 0.5% to 9,704.23.
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