MW: European shares up for first time in four sessions
Banks move higher in morning trading, oil producers also advance
European shares rose for the first time in four sessions on Friday, as banks advanced and an uptick in crude-oil futures helped oil producers to climb.
The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index climbed 1.3% to 193.06, although the index is still down almost 3% on the week .
Banks were among the strongest performers on Friday, as shares of HSBC Holdings advanced 2.4%, shares of Societe Generale rose 1.7%, Credit Suisse shares climbed 2.8% and Deutsche Bank shares advanced 1.5%.
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Back in Europe, airline Air France-KLM climbed 6.6%. It's still targeting a positive operating result for fiscal 2009 but said the level will depend on economic developments.
It swung to a loss of 505 million euros in its fiscal third quarter. A year ago, the firm posted a profit of 139 million euros in the quarter. Revenue fell 0.1% to 5.97 billion euros.
"Activity in the third quarter reflected the increasing severity of the economic downturn," the airline said.
Shares of French alcoholic drinks maker Pernod Ricard rose 9.1% after its first-half net profit rose 5% to 615 million euros, with sales up 13% to 4.2 billion euros.
The company confirmed its fiscal-year recurring net profit guidance, which it said should exceed 1 billion euros for the first time.
Shares of the London Stock Exchange climbed 4.3%. It announced that Xavier Rolet will replace Clara Furse as chief executive on May 20.