By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks turned higher Thursday,
with Barclays PLC pacing banking shares as the firm plans to
outline its growth strategy, but shares of Rémy Cointreau SA
struggled following a profit warning from the cognac maker.
The Stoxx Europe 600 recovered for a gain of 0.2% to 331.59,
following an upswing for U.S. stock futures as weekly jobless
claims also came in ahead of expectations.
Bank stocks were up, with Barclays higher by 3.7% after the
company said it would provide an update on its plans to strengthen
its business across the board, which includes a continuing
cost-cutting program. The interim first-quarter update will be
released on April 24.
In the banking group, shares of Deutsche Bank rose 1.9%, Société
Générale picked up 1.1% and BNP Paribas gained 0.4%.
The pan-European index also reversed course and moved higher
after U.S. financial industry heavyweight Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
(GS) posted above-anticipated earnings of $4.02 a share and Morgan
Stanley's (MS) adjusted earnings of 68 cents a share outstripped
expectations of 59 cents a share.
European equity markets were mostly lower earlier in the session
as investors kept tabs on any developments from diplomatic talks
between Ukraine, Russia, the European Union and the U.S. as they
discuss Ukraine's growing political crisis and tensions with
Russia. On Thursday, three pro-Russian protesters were killed and
13 wounded after a clash with Ukrainian authorities at a military
installation in the southeastern city of Mariupol.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the talks in Geneva
accused the Kiev government of committing a "serious crime" for
sending troops to eastern Ukraine. The talks were held ahead of a
four-day weekend in European markets for Good Friday and for Monday
following Easter Sunday.
Among those pacing decliners on the Stoxx 600 were Rémy
Cointreau SA and Diageo PLC as the liquor makers posted sales
declines. Rémy fell 3.2% after warning that annual operating profit
could fall between 35% and 40%. Fourth-quarter sales fell nearly
19%, with contraction in the Rémy Martin brand largely because of
"extravagant measures taken by the Chinese government," said Rémy,
referring to China's order to officials to cut their lavish
spending.
"This austerity policy is not going to decline. On the contrary,
the government is stepping its actions in this area," Remy said
during its quarterly conference call.
Shares of Britain's Diageo , whose brands include Smirnoff vodka
and Guinness stout, fell 3.8% after the company said its
third-quarter sales fell 1.3% on weakness in currencies and in
emerging markets.
Also, shares of SAP AG were down 2.5% after the company's
traditional business with software for installation on computers
was hurt by currency impact. Overall profit and sales at SAP in the
first quarter, however, rose.
In London, the FTSE 100 picked up 0.3% at 6,605.03 and Germany's
DAX 30 rose 0.7% to 9,379.14. France's CAC 40 was up by 0.4% at
4,424.22, led by a 2.1% increase for Publicis Groupe SA as the
advertising and public relations firm logged first-quarter sales
growth.
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