European stocks climb

European stocks hit an 18-month closing high on Wednesday, as forecast-beating results from J.P. Morgan and Intel and solid US retail sales brightened the prospect for economic recovery. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.6 percent higher at 1,105.32 points, reversing a two-session losing run. Tech stocks made strong gains after Intel, the world's top chip maker, posted better than expected quarterly results.
STMicroelectronics rose 2.7 percent and Infineon gained 2.8 percent. "The mood in European stock markets has turned better and better during the course of the day," said Kim Saugsted, senior investment adviser at pan-Nordic bank Nordea in Copenhagen.
Banking stocks also led the broad rally, with UBS rising 2.4 percent, Deutsche Bank up 3.1 percent and BNP Paribas up 1.6 percent. J.P. Morgan posted a quarterly profit that topped analysts' forecasts as revenue from its investment bank eclipsed losses on consumer loans.
"The largest positive surprise in the report is that the consumer credit trends ... showed improvement in delinquencies - this will spur the sentiment running in the market that the US economy is on its way to recovery," said Christian Tegllund Blaabjerg, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.
Positive news also came from the macro side, with sales at US retailers in March rising 1.6 percent, versus a forecast of a 1.2 percent increase. Separately, consumer prices were up 0.1 percent, matching expectations, giving the US Federal Reserve some leeway to keep ultra-low interest rates. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the US economy is still being weighed down by weakness in the construction sector and battered state and city budgets.
In the prepared text of his congressional testimony, Bernanke did not directly refer to the near-term outlook for benchmark interest rates or the US central bank's vow to keep them low for an "extended period." Around Europe, UK's FTSE 100 index gained 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.8 percent, and France's CAC 40 added 0.6 percent.
Shares in Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk rose 5.9 percent, lifted by positive economic data from Singapore, which sent an Asian rival's stock to 20-month highs. Greece's debt worries were back in investors' minds on Wednesday, after a Moody's analyst said the country is still more likely than not to suffer a ratings downgrade over the next 18 months despite the cushion of an EU safety net, though the analyst said the risk of default is low. National Bank of Greece dropped 4 percent and Alpha Bank shed 4.9 percent.