EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Gain For Second Day; Shire Rises

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets rose for a second straight day on Monday as fears about the soundness of Portuguese banks continued to recede, and investors instead focused on upcoming data and corporate results.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index picked up 0.8% to 339.56, after posting its biggest weekly percentage loss since March on Friday.

The weakness last week came as Portuguese conglomerate Espírito Santo International SA missed a debt payment, sending shivers through Portugal's financial sector and spurring fears about the rest of the Espirito Santo empire.

After an initial wobble, shares of Banco Espírito Santo SA slid 7.1% on Monday after the bank appointed Vítor Bento, a well-respected economist, as its new chief executive in an effort to restore confidence in the company.

"It's hardly surprising that, just five years on from the worst global banking crisis in recent memory, the market has the scope to overreact to banking contagion fears," said David White, trader at Spreadex, in a note.

Portugal's PSI 20 index rose 0.7% to 6,183.39, and Portuguese government bonds also continued to rise, sending the yield on 10-year government paper down 9 basis points to 3.76%.

Elsewhere, France's CAC 40 index gained 0.7% to 4,345.15 and Germany's DAX 30 index put on 0.8% to 9,744.03. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index added 0.8% to 6,740.30, buoyed by a 2.5% gain for Shire PLC after a revised offer from AbbVie Inc. (ABBV).

Shares of Tesco PLC (TSCDY) climbed 2% in London after Cantor Fitzgerald lifted the grocery chain to buy from sell, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Shares of Airbus Group NV picked up 1.5% in Paris after the plane maker unveiled a major upgrade of its A330 long-range jet.

In Brussels, RTL Group SA slipped 0.8% after Credit Suisse downgraded the broadcaster to neutral from outperform.

After the markets close, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi speaks to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The ECB boss is expected to confirm that the governing council stands ready to act with a full-blown quantitative-easing program if needed and focus on keeping a lid on further euro gains, according to Simon Smith, chief economist at FxPro.

The euro (EURUSD) traded at $1.3632, up from $1.3609 late on Friday.

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