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Europe shares rise after Putin says Ukraine deal reached

European shares rose on Thursday morning after Russian President Vladimir Putin said an agreement was reached in Ukrainian peace talks and a ceasefire would start on February 15.

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European shares rose on Thursday morning after Russian President Vladimir Putin said an agreement was reached in Ukrainian peace talks and a ceasefire would start on February 15.

Stockholm stocks outperformed, with benchmark OMXS30 index gaining 1.5% and hitting a record high after Sweden's central bank surprised many by cutting its main repo rate into negative territory and launching a quantitative easing programme, sending the crown currency lower.

Shares in Credit Suisse rose 6.7% after the lender outlined measures to deal with the strong Swiss franc and posted fourth-quarter net profit ahead of analysts' estimates. Shares in Renault soared 8% after the French carmaker posted a jump in profits despite a deepening Russian market slump.

Online fashion retailer Zalando jumped 11% percent after it reported a bigger-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter core profit as it reined in marketing spending and grew sales. Bucking the trend, Zurich Insurance Group fell 3.6% after keeping its dividend unchanged, falling short of some expectations for a rise.

Overall, Europe's earning season has been mostly positive so far, with 62% of companies meeting or beating earnings forecasts, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine data. In absolute terms, profits are up 13% on average.

"Earnings are pretty good overall, with a couple of very nice surprises such as Renault," Saxo Bank trader Andrea Tueni said. At 0918 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.5% at 1,491.39 points. Following a strong start to the year, the index started to lose steam in late January and has been trading in a tight range since then.

Greece was also in focus. A Greek official reiterated on Thursday that the country was confident of reaching a deal with European partners but will not extend the current bailout programme, after late-night talks in Brussels ended without agreement.

Euro zone finance ministers are due to meet again on Monday to find a way forward in the crisis. "There are further meetings in the coming days and if there's no progress by the end of next week, we could get a correction on the market," said Alexandre Baradez, chief market analyst at IG France. Athens' benchmark ATG equity index, which has swung wildly this month, rose 3.8% on Thursday, steadying after a 4% fall on Wednesday.

Also Read: Putin says leaders agree on main issues over Ukraine


 

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