European shares bounced back on Wednesday from a sharp sell-off in the previous session, as a drop in the value of the euro lifted stocks in the region's exporters and sent the German market to a record high. Telecom Italia surged 7.7 percent, which traders said was down to expectations of a consolidation in the domestic mobile phone sector.
-- Euro's renewed slump boosts European exporters
Germany's DAX, whose constituents include major exporters BMW and Volkswagen, closed up 2.7 percent at 11,805.99 points - a record closing level for the index. The broader pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 1.5 percent while the euro zone's Euro STOXX 50 index climbed 2.3 percent to 3,649.54 points. The euro fell to below $1.06 for the first time in 12 years on Wednesday, extending a broad decline since the European Central Bank kicked off a 1.1 trillion euro ($1.2 trillion) asset-buying programme at the start of the week.
Traders said one effect of the ECB's bond-buying programme, known as quantitative easing (QE), was that it made German and European equities look more attractive than Bunds, both in terms of comparative price and yields. "We all know QE is no panacea. It won't fix the problems of Europe, only reforms can do that, but one thing we have learnt is that money printing is good for equity values," said Gary Paulin, co-founder of equity brokerage Aviate Global.
Credit Suisse rose 1.1 percent, extending Tuesday's near 8-percent surge after it poached Prudential's Tidjane Thiam as its CEO. Several banks, including J.P. Morgan, upgraded targets on Credit Suisse. Recruitment company Adecco also advanced 5.7 percent after its fourth-quarter profits beat expectations.
Bucking the trend, shares in JCDecaux fell 4.5 percent after the holding company of the Decaux family sold a 5.4 percent stake in the outdoor advertising group. The rebound in Europe came in spite of a slump in New York overnight. The US S&P 500 fell 1.7 percent on Tuesday on mounting worries over the pace of economic growth and the prospect that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as soon as June. "The strength of the US dollar is going to support European equities. We remain with a 'buy on the dip' strategy," said Francois Savary, chief strategist at Swiss bank Reyl.
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