* FTSEurofirst up 1.6 percent, lifted by commodities, banks
* Index recovers after hitting lifetime low on Tuesday
* Holcim, Adecco tumble on results
By Atul Prakash
LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - European equities rebounded
early on Wednesday to snap a three-day losing streak as miners
and oils gained on firmer commodity prices and banks advanced
after recent declines.
At 0905 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top
European shares was up 1.6 percent at 680.42 points. On Tuesday,
the benchmark fell 1.9 percent to the lowest close since the
index's inception in July 1997.
The broader STOXX 600 <> index rose 1.6 percent, with
energy shares topping the gainers list, followed by banks.
Oils tracked crude oil prices <CLc1>, which rose more than
$1 to near $43 a barrel. BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSb.L>,
BG Group <BG.L>, Tullow Oil <TLW.L>, Repsol <REP.MC>, Total
<TOTF.PA> and StatoilHydro <STL.OL> added between 2.3 and 3.9
percent.
"The market has been both a financial and emotional
rollercoaster over the past fortnight. Investors are scrambling
to find an area of support to help justify buying back in," said
Chris Hossain, senior sales manager at ODL Securities.
"The banking sector is likely to dictate how markets fare
over the coming weeks. Whilst confidence is brittle, market
bulls will point to the opinion that much of the dirty linen has
been aired."
Among banks, Standard Chartered Bank <STAN.L> was up 7.5
percent, Barclays <BARC.L> rose 2.8 percent and Commerzbank
<CBKG.DE> advanced 4.8 percent.
But Credit Agricole <CAGR.PA> fell 2.8 percent after it
posted a fourth-quarter loss that was worse than analysts had
forecast as France's biggest retail bank suffered from
writedowns at its Greek and investment banking operations.
[]
Adidas <ADSG.DE> shares rose 2.5 percent after the world's
second-biggest sporting goods maker posted better-than-expected
fourth-quarter results. But the company said it expected sales
and earnings to fall in 2009.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE <> gained 1.7 percent,
Germany's DAX <> rose 1.6 percent and France's CAC 40
<> added 1.5 percent.
LIFETIME LOWS
The FTSEurofirst 300 hit the lowest point in its near 12
year history on Tuesday, while the STOXX 600 plumbed depths last
seen in late 1996. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 <.SPX> ended
below 700 points for the first time since October 1996.
The stock debacle has accompanied a descent of top global
economies into recession, and was sparked by a meltdown in U.S.
subprime mortgages that drove banks across the world to the
brink of collapse. Corporate earnings have taken a hammering.
Holcim <HOLN.VX> tumbled 10 percent to top percentage losers
in Europe after the Swiss cement maker posted a
worse-than-expected 54 percent drop in full year net profit and
gave a gloomy outlook for 2009.
Adecco <ADEN.VX>, the world's largest staffing company,
posted a surprise loss in the fourth quarter and said it saw no
immediate improvement in business conditions, sending its stock
down 7.8 percent.
Though they were higher on Wednesday, banks and insurance
shares have been the worst hit so far this year, with the DJ
Stoxx European banking index <.SX7P> and the DJ Stoxx European
insurance index <.SXIP> down 33 and 35 percent year to date.
"With banking stocks trading at multi-year lows, many of
them now trade like an option, with the threat of
nationalisation still in the background," said Hossain.
"If investors can withstand the threat of a stock trading
down to zero, there may be a stronger belief that now could be a
period to come back in from the sidelines," he said.
(Additional reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Jon
Loades-Carter)
