STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-REC jumps on plant speculation

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Stocks on the move [HOT-RTRS] Real-time Equity News [E] [WEU/EQUITY]

14:24GMT 26Mar2009-REC jumps on plant speculation

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Shares in Norwegian solar energy firm Renewable Energy Corp (REC.OL) jump 13.5 percent but retreat from earlier gains of 20 percent on speculation over a planned start up of an expanded silicon plant by firm by the end of March.

REC declines to comment on the speculation. REC's CEO told Reuters on Monday that REC probably would update the status of its Moses Lake, Washington, plant this month. [ID:nLN381262]

"REC management is as far as I know in the United States now, but their mere presence at Moses Lake shouldn't be enough to lift the stock by 10 or 20 percent," analyst Einar Kilde Evensen at DnB NOR Market says. Some traders say the move was also linked to unwinding of short positions in the stock.

Shares in other European solar companies are mixed as the sector's outlook for 2009 is still unclear. [ID:nLP951538]

Reuters messaging rm://richard.solem.reuters.com@reuters.net

13:46GMT 26March2009-Europe stocks stay weak despite higher Wall St

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European shares stay weak as Wall Street opens up after reports on economic growth and jobless claims come in as expected with banking stocks one of the biggest risers.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 is down 0.3 percent at 741.66 points in a choppy session, while the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI, the S&P 500 index .SPX and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC are up 0.9-1.6 percent.

Banking stocks are higher with Barclays (BARC.L), BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) and Banco Santander (SAN.MC) up 0.7-8.6 percent.

Utility shares are on the downside, with E.ON (EONGn.DE) down 1.1 percent.