European stocks rose Friday despite the downbeat results from Citigroup, with financials strong on the back of an overall positive flow of first-quarter earnings from the U.S. Strong results from U.S. companies including Caterpillar Inc., Google and Honeywell spurred on European markets while Citigroup's first-quarter write-downs were described as severe but certainly no worse than expected. «Earnings expectations for the financials have been so greatly reduced that the scope for shock is probably limited,» said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist and head of research at Brewin Dolphin in London. He said attention should be paid to how earnings stack up for the non-financial corporate sector amid talks of a U.S. recession. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index climbed 2.4 percent to 320.7. In terms of national markets, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose 1.3 percent to 6056.5, while France's CAC-40 Index closed up 2.1 percent at 4961.7. Germany's DAX Index finished up 2.4 percent at 6843.1. Societe Generale led the Euro Stoxx 50 index for a second day running, closing up 5.9 percent. It confirmed its chief executive of 15 years, Daniel Bouton, will bow out of the role, to be replaced fellow SocGen executive Frederic Oudea. Other European financials remained strong, with Credit Agricole SA rising 5.3 percent and ING Groep NV finishing up 4.4 percent. In other financial news, UBS AG shares rose as outspoken shareholder Olivant reported it has had a «constructive» meeting with the troubled Swiss bank. As investor relations were warmed by the news, UBS was lifted 5.4 percent. Spanish bank Bankinter SA said its first-quarter net profit fell 14 percent. Bankinter, Spain's seventh-largest bank by market value has had to set aside funds to cover bad loans. It however remained in the black, closing up 3.3 percent. But its stock has lost 21 percent in 2008, as interest in a takeover on the part of its largest shareholder Credit Agricole has begun to wane. In the FTSE100, Royal Bank of Scotland Group closed up 4.9 percent, Barclays rose 3.6 percent, Alliance & Leicester finished up 4.5 percent. Elsewhere Kazakhmys and Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. shares slumped, with reports that miners may face export duties on their metals. However nothing has been confirmed officially. Gold prices also saw a significant decline. As a result, Kazakhmys led the decliners in London, closing down 6.4 percent and Eurasian Natural Resources fell 4.5 percent. France Telecom finished the day flat after it finally confirmed it is indeed bidding for TeliaSonera after a week's worth of speculation. France Telecom suffered downgrades with one analyst stating there is «little rationale» for the deal.
