European shares rose on Monday in thin trade, led by carmakers, after bullish broker comments buoyed the sector as investors shrugged aside Standard & Poor's (S&P) downgrade of nine euro countries and fresh worries about an unruly default in Greece.
Volume was less than two-thirds of the 90-day daily average. That made trade choppy and exaggerated movements, with the gains were not enough to see the FTSEurofirst 300 index break beyond a technical resistance level.
The expected downgrades by credit rating agency S&P were ignored by the market. Yet analysts said the euro zone's EFSF bailout fund could be next in line for a downgrade and that top-rated countries, such as Germany, would need to increase financial backing to the fund for its rating to be maintained.
There were also new fears of an unruly default by Greece after crucial talks on a debt swap by private creditors broke down, prompting the country to send senior officials to Washington for meetings with the International Monetary Fund. Autos were the best performers, with the STOXX Europe 600 Automobiles & Parts index up 3.1 percent after positive broker comment by Goldman Sachs, which reiterated its "attractive" outlook on the sector.
"Carmakers are big exporters and have benefited from dollar strength, while Asian demand has been above expectations, so investors are expecting earnings to improve," said Veronika Pechlaner, a fund manager on the Ashburton European equity fund. Italy's Fiat, which is on Goldman Sachs' "Conviction Buy" list for 2012, was the standout performer, up 7 percent, in volume 112.4 percent of its 90-day daily average.
Goldman Sachs said in a note the sector was "in better financial and operational shape than in 2007, and we believe it is well placed to benefit from global economic realignment and could benefit from significant foreign exchange tailwinds". German carmaker Daimler, up 3.6 percent, was the biggest gainer on Germany's DAX, helping it also outperform the FTSE 100 and France's CAC, after Goldman Sachs added the firm to the Conviction Buy list.
Other brokers also echoed the positive view on Daimler, with Exane BNP Paribas raising it to "outperform" from "neutral" as momentum improves for its trucks and Mercedes divisions. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 0.8 percent at 1,025.68 points, after being as high as 1,026.55 and as low as 1,012.62, in volume that reached 65.8 percent of its 90-day daily average.
The index was trading between a major resistance level at 1,028 points - its October 2011 high from a rally started in September 2011 - and its 23.6 percent Fibonacci Retracement level of the same rally at 987.07. The index has tested 1,028 several times this month without breaking through. Carnival dropped 16.5 percent in volume nine times its 90-day daily average after the owner of the cruise ship that capsized off Italy's west coast on Friday said it would take a $90 million hit from the accident.