RTRS: European shares rise in early trade; Swiss banks gain
European shares gained in early trade on Monday, with Swiss banks higher and U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's plans for tax cuts fuelling optimism. At 0944 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 1.3 percent at 868.12 points.
On Friday, the first trading day of 2009, the index rose 3 percent, but it lost more than 44 percent in 2008, hit by a credit crisis that helped tip many major economies into recession.
"Expectations that Obama will come in with a big stimulus package are helping," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers.
"The market is looking for any signs that some of the forward-looking indicators, like PMIs, have bottomed."
Most banks rose, led by those in Switzerland, where the stock exchange re-opened after the New Year Holiday.
Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) and UBS (UBSN.VX) rose 8.3 percent and 5.9 percent respectively, with both continuing to benefit from recent sales of businesses.
However, HSBC (HSBA.L) fell 1.3 percent after Deutsche Bank cut its target to 650 pence, from 685.
Crude oil futures CLc1 retained recent gains and traded above $46 a barrel, amid further tension in the Middle East.
Total (TOTF.PA), BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), BG (BG.L) and Statoil (STL.OL) rose between 0.7 and 3.4 percent. Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE, Germany's DAX .GDAXI and France's CAC-40 .FCHI rose between 0.4 and 0.7 percent.
