Alcoa's earns help Europe stocks halt 5-day losing run
PARIS, July 9 (Reuters) - European stocks rose in early trade on Thursday, halting a sharp five-session losing streak, as forecast-beating results from U.S. bellwether Alcoa (AA.N) calmed fears over the incoming earnings season.
At 0703 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.5 percent at 821.18 points, bouncing back from a 10-week low hit on Wednesday.
Miners and steelmakers were among the biggest gainers, with Xstrata (XTA.L) up 1.9 percent and ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS) up 2.1 percent.
"There has been nothing reassuring in macro data lately, so people are really hoping for good surprises on the earnings front," said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading, at Global Equities, in Paris.
"We're still in a downward trend, with a lot of 'puts' from institutional investors, so if we don't get better-than-expected results and positive comments from companies, stocks are heading for another 10 percent drop."
Kicking off the much-awaited earnings season, U.S. aluminium major Alcoa Inc (AA.N) reported a third consecutive quarterly loss on Wednesday, but cost cuts helped the company beat estimates by a large margin. (Reporting by Blaise Robinson)
