Earnings spur relief rally in European stocks

European bourses rose in early trading on Wednesday, supported by some strong earnings reports, while investors took stock of Western sanctions against Moscow over its standoff with Ukraine.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.8% by 0810 GMT, steadying after a sell-off this week pushed it briefly to a seven-month low on Tuesday.

Western nations and Japan punished Russia with new sanctions for ordering troops into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, but raised hopes that a war on Europe’s eastern flank can be avoided.

Automakers led sectoral gains in Europe as Stellantis rose 5.2% after the carmaker said the margin on its adjusted operating profit climbed above its target in the first year after merger.

French yogurt maker Danone added 4.3% after reporting stronger-than-expected sales growth in the last quarter of 2021.

Barclays gained 2.5% after its annual profit nearly trebled and the British lender returned 2.5 billion pounds to shareholders in 2021.

Germany-based online broker FlatexDEGIRO shot up 18.8% after a report the company is attracting interest from private equity firms. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)