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Europe stocks close higher; banks, techs rise

Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:35am EDT

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LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - European shares closed higher on Wednesday after better-than-expected results by Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Intel (INTC.O) boosted investor sentiment, with banking stocks the biggest risers.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares at provisional close was up 2.6 percent at 862.31 points.

"There seems to have been a consistent out turn of better-than-expected results with Goldman and Intel today in the U.S. There is a growing conviction that recovery is coming and we are leaving the worst behind," said Mike Lenhoff, strategist at Brewin Dolphin.

Banking stocks added the most points to the index as better-than-expected results from Goldman Sachs on Tuesday helped push banking stocks higher.

Barclays (BARC.L) was up 4.7 percent. Several people familiar with the matter said Barclays was considering the sale of its private equity business and will meet investment partners this week to discuss the issue. [ID:nLF333303]

HSBC (HSBA.L), Banco Santander (SAN.MC), Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) and Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) gained 3.9-4.4 percent.

Technology stocks gained after U.S. peer Intel's quarterly results and outlook blew past Wall Street forecasts on better-than-expected consumer demand for PCs. [ID:nN14260734]

ASML (ASML.AS) was up 4.4 percent as the group said it expected third-quarter sales of around 450 million euros and a gross margin of about 30 percent. [ID:nLF497717] (Reporting by Joanne Frearson)



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