European stocks edge up after three-day rout, banks still weak

(Reuters) – Rate-sensitive real estate and technology stocks lifted the wider European benchmark on Tuesday after a three-day selloff in the wake of Silicon Valley Banks collapse that sent chills through the banking sector globally.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.1% by 0813 GMT after plunging 2.4% a day earlier in its worst sell-off of the year.

Real estate and technology stocks climbed 1.1% and 0.4%, respectively, as investors bought into the sectors that tend to benefit from lower interest rates.

European bond yields fell further as investors bet on reduced policy tightening from the European Central Bank (ECB). Traders are now pricing in a 25 basis-point hike as the most likely outcome at the ECBs policy meeting on Thursday, having priced in a 50 basis-point hike with near certainty last week.

The European banks index fell 0.6% after posting its biggest percentage loss in more than a year on Monday.

Shares of Credit Suisse fell 1.3% after the embattled Swiss lender said customer “outflows stabilized to much lower levels but had not yet reversed” in its 2022 annual report. The stock hit a record low on Monday, swept up in wider banking sector sell-off.

HSBC slipped 1.8% in its fourth consecutive day of losses. The UK bank bought the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank on Monday, rescuing a key lender for technology start-ups in Britain.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)