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By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Better-than-expected Chinese export data helped lift sentiment in Europe on Thursday, with
banks leading the charge north, although investors remained cautious ahead of central-bank meetings later in the day.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.1% to 288.61, after closing at its highest level since February 2011 on Wednesday.
Shares of MAN SE jumped 4.7%, after Volkswagen AG said late the prior day it will seek a domination agreement with
the German truck maker and offer to buy out the rest of the company's shareholders.
Shares of Volkswagen inched 0.6% higher.
On a more downbeat note, shares of Marks & Spencer Group PLC slumped 3.5% in London. The fashion and food retailer
Wednesday night reported a 1.8% drop in comparable sales for the 13 weeks to Dec. 29.
For the broader stock market, investors also looked east, where Chinese export data surprised to the upside. December
exports surged 14.1% from a year earlier, up from a 2.9% gain in November. Imports rose 6%, picking up from zero growth
the previous month.
Asia markets were mostly higher.
Most European indexes, however, traded in right ranges as investors waited for the European Central Bank and the Bank
of England to announce their latest monetary-policy measures later in the day.
Both banks were widely expected to keep rates on hold and make no changes to easing programs.
"We agree with the consensus view this month, although -- given the relatively dovish assessment presented by ECB
President Draghi in December -- we continue to see some risk that the ECB could surprise with a refi-rate cut," analysts
at RBC Capital Markets said in a note.
"Even in case of a refi-rate cut, we would not expect massive movements unless there are signals that the deposit rate
could be cut too," they added.
The BOE will announce its rate decision at noon London time, or 7 a.m. U.S. Eastern, followed by the ECB's
announcement at 12:45 p.m. At 13:30 ECB President Mario Draghi will host his monthly news conference.
Movers
Among notable movers in Europe, shares of Royal Philips Electronics NV added 3.7%, after Bank of America Merrill
Lynch lifted the firm to buy from neutral, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
In the same vein, shares of Alstom SA gained 2.7%, as Citigroup raised the industrial group to buy from neutral.
France's CAC 40 index , however, traded slightly lower at 3,717.45. Shares of GDF Suez SA added pressure, off 1.1%
after J.P. Morgan Cazenove cut the gas distributor to underweight from neutral.
Shares of Sociรฉtรฉ Gรฉnรฉrale SA rose 3.2% and Credit Agricole SA added 3.4%.
Banks were also on the rise in London. Shares of Standard Chartered PLC gained 1.3%, as Sociรฉtรฉ
Gรฉnรฉrale lifted the stock to buy from hold, while sector heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) rose 0.5%.
Shares of Tesco (TESO) climbed 2.5%, after the company reported that total sales for the six weeks to Jan. 5 rose
3.8%. Tesco also said Chris Bush will take full charge of U.K. operations.
The FTSE 100 index gained 0.2% to 6,109.44.
And in Germany, shares of RWE AG gave up 1.6%, after Barclays cut the utility firm to underweight from equal weight.
The DAX 30 index , however, picked up 0.3% to 7,745.98, with shares of Deutsche Bank AG (DB) up 2.9%.
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