European stocks pare losses as banks rebound
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - European stocks pared some of the losses seen earlier in the session on Thursday as banks rebounded, with HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) up 2.8 percent and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rising 2.6 percent.
By 0930 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.6 percent at 1,161.26 points after falling as much 1.6 percent earlier in the session.
Traders noted that banks were due for a recovery following losses of more than 17 percent during the past month on the DJStoxx 600 European banks .
Fortis (FOR.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 1.4 percent and Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) advanced 2.7 percent. Steelmakers, however, fell amid speculation that the price of steel was nearing a peak, analysts said. SSAB (SSABa.ST: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shed 8.3 percent and ThyssenKrupp (TKAG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) lost 2.8 percent (Reporting by Patrizia Kokot)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Spain mourns
Spanish plane crashes, kills
