EUROPE MARKETS: BP Shares Gain, LSE Limps: European Share Moves

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Here are some of the companies whose shares have made notable moves in European trade Friday.

GDF Suez: The French power utility gained 2.2% after being added to Morgan Stanley's list of top stock picks. The brokerage said it expects the company to deliver better earnings growth than most of its peers.

BP PLC: The British energy-sector heavyweight said it will appeal a U.S. federal judge's ruling on Thursday that found it grossly negligent in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. Shares of BP (BP) rose 0.9%, cutting into the 5.9% decline late Thursday in the wake of the decision.

Julius Baer Gruppe AG: Shares picked up 1.3% after the Zurich-based bank was upgraded to a buy rating from neutral at UBS, which cited an expected expansion in a valuation multiple as the reason.

London Stock Exchange PLC: Shares in the exchange operator fell 2.4% as Borse Dubai sold 8.5 million shares, or a 3.1% stake, according to news reports.

Neopost SA: The mailroom-equipment maker late Thursday reported second-quarter sales increased 1.4% amid a "significant improvement in growth" for its two divisions, and it reiterated its full-year view. The company also sold $90 million in new debt to a single investor. Shares of the French company leapt 5.8%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell Friday as investors awaited any firm details about progress in cease-fire talks for eastern Ukraine.

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