Automakers, banks lift European stocks on recovery bets

Sept 13 (Reuters) – European stocks rose on Monday, with automakers, banks and oil shares driving early gains as investors counted on a strong euro zone economic recovery to outweigh global slowdown worries.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) was up 0.4%, as of 0708 GMT, recovering lost ground after hitting a three-week low last week. Asian stocks, however, slipped following news of fresh regulatory crackdown on Chinese firms.

Economy-sensitive sectors including banks (.SX7P), automakers (.SXAP), oil and gas (.SXEP) and construction and materials (.SXOP) rose between 0.8% and 1.2%. The European Central Bank last week raised its growth and inflation projections for this year and beyond as the euro zone economy recovers quicker than expected.

German online pet supplies’ retailer Zooplus AG (ZO1G.DE) jumped 7.8% after Hellman & Friedman raised its takeover offer to 3.29 billion euros ($3.89 billion) from an initial offer of 3 billion euros.

Associated British Foods (ABF.L) slipped 2.2% as quarterly sales at Primark were lower than expected, but the company raised its full-year profit outlook. read more

Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips

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