EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Erase Monthly Loss As Oil Firms, Deutsche Bank Rally

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Embattled German bank strikes deal to sell insurance unit

Europe's stock benchmark turned positive for the month on Wednesday, as a rally for embattled Deutsche Bank AG sparked gains for banks and oil companies rose ahead of a closely watched OPEC meeting in Algeria.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index jumped 1.1% to 343.87, setting it on track for a 0.1% monthly gain.

"European equity markets are positive, following oil prices higher, as investors eye Algiers in the hope that today's OPEC meeting will reach some compromise," said Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment at stockbroker Interactive Investor, in a note.

"Although an agreement to curb output today would be a major surprise, the debate may pave the way for a potential deal at their next meeting," she added.

West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.5% at $44.88 a barrel, while Brent added 0.5% to $46.75 a barrel. Market players are shifting their focus to November (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/crude-higher-but-market-faces-long-wait-for-next-opec-move-on-output-2016-09-28) as the time when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could decide on a more definitive plan to curtail output that has suppressed prices for two years.

The gains helped fuel optimism over Europe's commodity companies, with shares of Total SA (TOT) (TOT) up 1.1%, BP PLC (BP.LN) (BP.LN) rising 1.1% and Repsol SA (REPYY) 1.3% higher.

Deutsche Bank boost: Shares of Deutsche Bank (DBK.XE) (DBK.XE) gained 3.3% after the struggling lender reached a deal to sell its Abbey Life insurance business to Phoenix Group for EUR1.09 billion ($1.23 billion).

The bank -- Germany's biggest -- earlier this week dropped to an all-time closing low on reports the government was ruling out any potential state aid for it.

Deutsche's rebound on Wednesday fueled gains for the entire sector, with shares of Banco Santander SA (SAN)(SAN) up 1.4%, BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR) rising 1.3% and Commerzbank AG (CBK.XE) 1.4% higher.

Other movers: Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.LN) (RBS.LN) rose 0.9% after the bank agreed to pay $1.1 billion (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rbs-pays-11-billion-to-settle-lawsuits-in-us-2016-09-28-34851318) to a U.S. regulator to settle two lawsuits related to mortgage-backed securities. The charge was within the amount RBS set aside in provisions.

Also in London, Tui AG shares gained 2.8% after the travel operator said it was confident of delivering between 12% and 13% growth in underlying earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tui-says-on-track-for-12-13-fy-earnings-growth-2016-09-28) for the year that ends Sept. 30.

Deutsche Post AG (DPW.XE) added 1.1% after the courier company said it is buying UK Mail Group for GBP242.7 million (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/deutsche-post-strikes-deal-to-buy-uk-mail-2016-09-28) ($315.5 million).

Shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ABI.BT) (ABI.BT) were halted for trade ahead of a shareholder meeting to approve its $100 billion-plus megamerger with rival SABMiller (SAB.JO) . SABMiller shares were up 0.2%.

Indexes: The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 0.9% to 6,866.89, with the oil majors helping the benchmark higher.

Germany's DAX 30 index advanced 1.2% to 10,487.88, while France's CAC 40 index gained 1.1% to 4,448.80.

Economic news: European Central Bank President Mario Draghi in a welcome address at the First ECB Annual Research Conference in Frankfurt reiterated the need for structural reforms to boost economic growth.

The central bank boss also said the euro area needs "more robust policy prescriptions" to promote growth.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 28, 2016 05:14 ET (09:14 GMT)

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